Re-birth
by elliebird
Summary: What happens when two of the strongest clans have a forbidden child with the mind of a 21 year old from a previous life. One very powerful shinobi with no idea what's going on.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Hi! This is my first attempt at a fanfiction. I'd love to hear some feedback, especially if I'm going to keep posting. This will be my one and only author's note hopefully; I don't want to interrupt the flow of my story.

Disclaimer the characters and most of the plot belong to Masashi Kishimoto

She had always hated hospitals ever since she learnt about her failing kidneys. In and out of new buildings all the time to find out why she was so ill. So waking up in a room she didn't recognize after yet another surgery wasn't that big of a deal. For five minutes she just lay there trying to get a grip on reality as well as adjusting her senses that had disoriented during her time passed out. It could take some time.

In the distance there were three people talking in a language that was foreign to her ears. Every now and then an English word would be spoken making her ears perk up, since her hearing was still slightly messed up, hoping that it was some doctor failing to say the word correct in the strange language. All she wished was for someone one to speak bloody English so she could understand what was happening She couldn't be further from the truth. She didn't need to strain her ears as much now as the speaking was getting louder, the people were getting closer to her still form on the bed. She didn't realise just how close they were until giant hands appeared in her vision as if trying to pick her up. But how was that possible? She was a fully grown woman standing at a proud 5'6. No one should be able to pick her up. No one should have hands that big to begin with.

The hands felt cold against her skin, a massive difference to the warmth made by the blanket. The shock was so bad that tears began to gather in her eyes and a blood curdling scream emerged. It took a moment for her to register that that scream was coming from her. The shock quieted her enough to get a proper look at her surroundings, now that she was weightless. Her sight was limited, spanning around one metre in total. Not much you can gather from such a short range. Not even the face of her captor was visible just yet. The screech caused the person to begin talking in the strange language once again. She couldn't even pick out the faint English words from how fast she was talking. All she had done was scream. Nothing new in a kidnapping situation right?

The speed talking slowed down to a halt when the door slammed. Either from someone leaving or entering, most likely leaving from the lack of talking. All was silent as the mysterious person lifted her just within the limited sight range. Some features were becoming apparent like the long black hair and the sharp point of her nose. But the most noticeable was the pale complexion they had. It looked almost white like paper.

The door creaked open again as a continuous clicking sound entered into the room at a slow even pace. Even though no one was making a sound it was almost as if the room got quieter by the person's mere presence. Whoever they were they held all the power. The clicking sound didn't stop until they were just centimeters away from her, staring down with piercing black eyes. The woman stared for only a few seconds but it felt like hours until in one sudden movement, she was stood as straight as an arrow. She was now looking at the woman holding her. The mouth slowly moving to speak the language she couldn't understand.

"I've decided to name her Mia. Do with her as you wish, she stopped being my problem days ago." Once those words left her lips the woman had turned and began to leave. Only the distant sound of clicking remained.

Finally, the woman holding her looked down and muttered one word.

"Mia"

Even though the spoke a different language she knew that was her name. It sounded too English not to be.

.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer all the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

The nurse had no idea on what to do. One day she was helping a woman give birth in secret. Five days later the same woman is telling her to dispose of the child however she wished. Damn shinobi have no emotions towards their own children. How does one even get rid of a child? You can't just kill them like animals. Maybe leaving her outside someone's house would work. Yet again the chance of them sending poor little Mia to an orphanage was high. The orphanages weren't known for being great especially since they kicked children out at the age of 5 just for misbehaving. Shame that it was the only safe option to keep her alive. If only that woman hadn't gotten pregnant on a mission she wouldn't be left to deal with this situation. An Uchiha should know how to act properly with their stuck up attitudes. The only decent thing that woman did for the baby was give her a name.

With that thought in mind the nurse set about preparing the baby. The orphanage was only a few minutes away but a 5 day old wouldn't last in the autumn winds. The nurse used the only blanket available to wrap Mia up as well as her scarf to keep her warm. Can't be too careful. Once the baby was all snuggled up, the nurse was preparing to leave when the second nurse who had yet to leave the corner chimed in.

"You can't possibly agree to just get rid of the baby!" He stomped towards the original nurse wearing the ugliest scowl. As if he had a right to chastise her whilst he stood and hid in the corner the whole time.

"I will do with this child as I find best Riku. I didn't hide in the corner like some coward." The nurse spat back. He wouldn't stop her, she was going to have the best childhood possible in an orphanage. Even if it wouldn't be much, it would be better then being part of that clan. Her thoughts were interrupted when Riku opened his mouth once again to complain.

"But murder isn't the answer Hisa!" he pleaded.

An uncontrollable laugh bubbled out the nurse. As if she would spend her whole life learning how to save a person's life just to start killing them. The laugh didn't sit well with Riku as his face turned a dark shade of red from anger. He was about to open his mouth to shout more. Although, he was interrupted by another loud laugh from the nurse who had yet to calm down.

"Did you really think I would kill a baby? I was going to take her to an orphanage not a slaughterhouse."

Riku's face slowly drained of all the colour until only a light pink dust remained on his cheeks due to embarrassment. He truly was only a child, no matter how good he was at medicine. Hisa continued to walk towards the door not even looking back at the embarrassed nurse standing dazed in the middle of the room. The door shut with a quiet thud as she left.

The outside was as cold as she expected making her both glad and regretful for giving the baby her scarf, as Hisa walked through the icy breeze towards the only safe place for the baby. Her thoughts were solely on the loss of her scarf that was tightly wrapped around the baby. She really did miss the warmth it created. It was a good thing she only had to walk down two streets even if they were massive. The walk was uneventful as no civilians would be seen walking around at three in the morning. The odd shinobi was roofhopping but never looked down to see the lone person walking the streets.

As Hisa approached the tall looming building she realised just how bizarre the week had been. She was dragged out of work six days ago and sworn to secrecy then pushed into a room with two other nurses and a screaming pregnant woman. After 16 hours of labour the tiny baby she was currently cradling was born. Almost immediately the mother refused to see her own child and attempted to hobble out the room demanding to get back to work. That was the last time she had seen her until today when she finally decided to see the beautiful being that wretched woman created. Now that she thought about it she never did learn who the father was. At this point it didn't matter since Mia would never know either of her parents.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to the baby as Hisa reached the top of the few steps leading to the door. Over the past few days she had only ever cried twice; when she was first born and earlier when she had picked her up. That was a shock to everyone as all she had done was eat and sleep so the screech that the small girl created caused everyone to stop what they were doing. Even now she didn't stir from the cold wind which she'd have to suffer in until someone notices her. This was because no matter how long Hisa knocked, no guardians appeared at the door. The only option was to leave her on the doorstep with a note written on a page torn from a small notepad. The only words written on the paper was "My name is Mia". With the paper tucked away the nurse disappeared leaving the baby wrapped in her scarf hoping someone would notice the small bundle on the step. The nurse never looked back and never went to check on Mia but she never left her thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Dawn rolled around quickly for Mia. Her eyes opened from the bright light shining straight into her eyes. She slowly blinked them until her eyes adjusted to the light. That took longer than she expected as she kept blinking rapidly to help. Eventually her sight was back to normal, or as normal as it was yesterday. She assumed this due to the sudden appearance of the sun which hadn't been visible to her last time she was conscious. She continued to dwell on these thoughts until a strong wind blew directly at her. The wind was cold enough to send a chill down her body as she lay there. To avoid the cold from hitting her again she attempted to move the warmth surrounding her. Nothing happened like she commanded. She was stuck. Certainly not the ideal situation to be in when she didn't even know what's happening around her from limited sight and memory loss. Mia made one more attempt to move her limbs into a better position but yet again she was restricted by the cloth surrounding her. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to move on her own accord. The result was her braking down crying from a the shock and frustration of not being able to move and the cold which continued to penetrate her warmth.

The cry must of caught the attention of the people inside as the door slowly creaked open as a woman's eye appeared in the crack looking around. Her eyes finally landed on the small bundle of cloth stranded on the doorstep. Her confusion being quashed by finding the answer to all the noise. Yet another baby had be left on their doorstep. Just what they needed. Either way she couldn't just leave the small thing to wither away in the cold so she gathered her up into her arms, attempting to silent the cries that the baby made. She walks inside the doorway to be meet face to face by another one of the cares that worked in the orphanage. Without saying a word she gentle took the small baby from the young woman. The new care takers quickly examined the face to check for any dirt that could of gotten on to the baby's face. Nothing. That was a good thing, she hadn't been hurt. With a curt nod to the other she walked away still carrying the baby in her arms.

She made the mistake of walking into the dining room where all the children were currently devouring their breakfasts. That was until their tiny eyes landed on the bundle in the care takers arms. She was swarmed immediately. All wishing to get a closer look at the new addition to the family. Except most of the older children who had no interest in the baby. It was just a baby to them, not some magical creature. All the noise was overwhelming for Mia. Yet it didn't make her cry more, the exact opposite. She quieted down as her eyes slowly drifted over each child that was close. She mustn't of been able to see much considering she only looked a few days old. Poor little thing already abandoned before having the chance to do anything. The care taker looked across all the bright little face of every child in there and gave them a small sad smile. All of them had been in the baby's position. The smile fell off her face as she opened her mouth to tell them off.

"That's it! Show's over! Back to your breakfast" With those words she wandered off to the back of the room where the main office lay hidden in the corner. The baby couldn't be left in these blankets much longer. They were freezing.

As she pushed the door open a man's head perked open. No one ever entered the main office except him so who could it of been. That was until he saw the head matron enter holding a small infant in her arms. Great another mouth to feed. They could barely afford to feed the children they had now and that was with them putting their own money in. At this rate he may need to start kicking some of the children out. He decided to voice his complaints to the new comer in the room.

"Kiko, we really can't afford to house another child. We're barely eating any food ourselves. We might have to start kicking the older ones out or banning more children from entering." As soon as the words left his lips Kiko has turned.

"It's a baby. You don't need to pay money to feed them just a few essentials. We already have most of it. Why else would you hire a wet nurse if you're just going to refuse a baby the right to feed?" She had a look on her face that indicate she thought him to be stupid. He wasn't the smartest of people anyways. It was a surprise he manage to get a job. The look on Kiko face would of offended any man had he not been used to it.

"Fine no one is leaving this time but no more children are to be taken in until we can afford it. Do you understand?" that phrase was enough to wipe the look of Kiko face as a smile took over her features. This time it showed her joy. The terms weren't the best but at least the new baby could stay.

"You won't regret this Yuuto" she laughed before getting to work on changing the blankets. She could hear a sigh pass his lips but she ignored it the baby demanded her full attention.

As she was changing the cloth she notices a small piece of paper drift onto the table. Out of curiosity she reached for it to read the contents. When she opened it she saw the single sentence written on it.

"Mia huh" was muttered under her breathe. She finally learnt the baby's name. That would make her job easier since she didn't need to name her. She lay the paper on top of the fabric used to dress the baby in. It would be saved in the girls file as it was mandatory to keep everything found on children when they are first dropped off at the orphanage. What shocked her the most though was the lack of response she got from removing her warmth. Mia had done nothing but stare at her surroundings. It was odd for a baby to do that. Well, all the ones Kiko had dealt with in the past.

Once she had changed Mia into warm clothes and not just some cloth Kiko was getting ready to feed her. She was hired to be the wet nurse originally for the orphanage but this was the first baby that had been dropping off in her nine years working there. Most of the children were already past the phase of being feed milk. Finally, she could fulfill her role. Kiko slowly lifted Mia towards the gap in her feeding blanket. This seemed to cause a reaction from the baby as she made a strange sound from the back of her throat. As if to protest to the feeding. That was until she actually began to eat. Silent the whole time she was eating. Not even a sucking sound reached her ear but she was definitely drinking. Only when she had her fill did her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep. Just giving the matron enough time to burp her.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer all the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

For two months Mia had been stuck in this place. She was slowly coming to terms with the fact that she was now a baby. She hated to admit it but it had taken her a while to learn that. The biggest give away was the constant breastfeeding from that same woman every two hours. Only babies get breastfeed. The other thing that gave it away was her being so small compared to all the adults Mia saw floating in and out of her view. Well she thought they were adults, they tended to avoid her most of the time. There weren't many, around four in total. One man and three women but that was all she could tell. Even with her improving sight it was still too poor to see anything of importance happening. Her range was around one and a half metres. That was far greater than any baby should be able to see so why could she. She might not have the brain of a 2 month old but not even she could work that out.

She hadn't thought about it much when she first learnt she had to suffer through her baby years again. Until around a month ago when it hit her. How could she be a baby when she was a 21 year old just over a month ago getting ready for exams? There was no chance of her dying in surgery. It was only a basic one to change the tube in her stomach, with practically no history of complications for her anyways. It was her third tube, her body should be used to it. The thoughts plagued her for weeks until that morning when Mia decided to just give up. She had been given a second chance to be healthy. Like hell she was going to waste it sat in bed all day moping about her illness again. That was if she still had it. No ever did learn the cause, just that she had died before anyone realised. So maybe. Just maybe she was perfectly healthy. If that was true she would take advantage of it and do everything she lost out on doing in her past life.

She was so into that train of thought that she didn't even hear the door creak open as small feet rushed inside. The small boy glanced around the room hoping to find the perfect hiding spot in the newly dubbed forbidden room. The matrons had banned all children from entering. He was creeping along the edge, along the walls, when his eyes landed on the cot which Mia resided in. It was the only thing in the room big enough to hide a 4 year old comfortably. He walked towards it as silently as possible trying to navigate the best way to climb in like any future ninja would do. That was until his eyes landed on the small pile of blankets sat in the middle. Perfect. They would make it even easier to hide.

When he reached the gate hands stretched out to try and shake it open the door creaked again. Frozen by the noise he quickly ducked his head. But it was too late, his friend had found him already. He hadn't been quiet enough to escape them. As he was about to complain, the pile of blankets started to wiggle inside the gated box. Blankets didn't wiggle. But babies hidden in a pile of them do. The boy stifled a scream but he couldn't hold it in anymore when the baby's head suddenly snapped in his direction. The scream was loud enough for all the kids playing the game to run towards their friend as well as matron Kiko.

The matron didn't look mad at the children but she definitely wasn't pleased with them. They had broken into the nursery for Mia. The room she had took them was off limits. However, the boy already had his mouth open ready to ask questions before kiko could tell him off for being there.

"What is it?" the boy blurted out with a weird look on his face.

Stifling a laugh Kiko knew the baby could act a little abnormal sometimes. She replied gently "Not a what but a who. This is a baby and her name is Mia". That answer wasn't enough for the young boy though.

"Why does she have her own room? If we have to share then so does she!" The pout the boy added at the end made the whining seem more adorable and less annoying. That was until he heard the response the caretaker gave him and his face turn sour.

"Babies need more space than messy boys like you. Now if you have any more questions you'll have to wait until Mia has been sorted out" all this was said as she made shooing motions towards the children. Mia had yet to make a sound during the whole fiasco. She had just returned to her previous thoughts. She seemed to spend most of her time with her eye unfocused on a corner in a room. It was almost as if she had no interest in where she was.

Once Mia was changed and feed Kiko walked out into the main room, carrying Mia into there for the first time, only to see all the children gathered in a corner conversing with one another. She was dreading saying that she'd answer their questions. Almost immediately the children noticed that Kiko had walked in and had sat down with Mia in her arms. The gathering of children broke apart as they formed a circle around Kiko. There were more of them but all was fine. Until the questions started all at once.

"Where did she come from?"

"How old is she?"

"Why is she so tiny?"

"Can I hold her?"

"Can she eat dirt?"

The last one was Kiko favourite but at least they were simple questions she could answer if they stopped long enough. It was like they didn't even stop to breathe.

"Ok one at a time children. Now then no she can't eat dirt, just like the rest of you can't" at this she gave a pointed look towards one of the boys who sat in the circle. "You can't hold her just yet, maybe in a few months when she's stronger. She is normal size for her age which is only two months even if she looks small to you." Now it was time to answer the big question.

"We don't know where she came from. One morning she just magically appeared on the doorstep just like all of you needing a big loving family filled with older brothers and sisters which hopefully you guys can be." Kiko hoped that answer would be enough for them. It seemed as if Mia had enough as she had started to wriggle during the interrogation. Looks like it was nap time for the little one again.

At eight months old nothing interesting had happened to Mia. She was slowly learning what some of the basic words meant. Try as she might speaking them was just out of her reach when she first started. She had been around third month when she made her first few attempts. They all sounded like childish gibberish with the odd squeal in the middle. To Mia, it was a disappointment at her inability to talk but to the caretakers it was a miracle that the baby could be talking so early on. It was only around four or five months when she could actually form real words. But the caretakers were most surprised when she started to walk at the age of six months. They had never witnessed anything like it before. They believed she was a genius and they wanted do whatever to help her develop more.

Once Yuuto heard of Mia rapid improvements, he demanded that Kiko be her primary caretaker for the rest of Mia time there. This was because she the best equipped to train the girl to become a promising member of society and should she wish for it a shinobi for the village. Kiko was the only one with the proper training to do such a thing due to her shinobi training. That would be ideal for the orphanage if she did because all genius get extra help both financially and educationally. It would also be Yuuto chance to get more funding for the orphanage, they'd have to keep Mia in the best shape possible.

They needed the financial help since taking in Mia they had only been able to take in three more children before completely running out of money. Soon children would need to be kicked out onto the street unless the council do their job correctly. They were so focused on lining their own pockets with money when it was already full than helping the village. Hopefully the Fourth would be able to fix it considering he himself was praised for being a genius.

At eleven months old Mia experienced the most terrifying moment of her life. It wouldn't be until years later that she learnt what caused it. The kyuubi and the boy who had the burden of caging him.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

The tenth of October rolled around almost seamlessly. A perfectly normal day for everyone. Mia had laid awake most of the night before contemplating what to do with her life once she could freely move around. Although she started to learn to walk at six months she still struggled to move at a fast pace. If she moved too quick her face would be an inch deep in the wooden floor. Right now she could be compared to a penguin, slow and tended to waddled instead of walking. Just why did she have to have chubby baby legs. It was times like this when she truly missed her old life or more importantly her long legs.

The caretakers had gotten used to her little night wanders since she had done them every day for the past 7 months. At first they found it cute but by the eighth night they were beyond fed up. By the second month they had given up on trying to put her back to bed. Choosing to instead sit and watch over her as she walked back and forth between all the rooms available to her. Normally she would manage two full circuits before passing out in the arms of the caretaker, typically Kiko.

Unfortunately during her normal adventure that night there was an interruption. Not by a matron but an intense feeling of pure hatred. She had never felt anything as strong as this before in either lives. It was like her death was guaranteed should she ever face the source of it all. That was not part of her plan. She was going to live as long as possible, so definitely no dying tonight. Sadly, the feeling was too much for her handle mentally and the tears began almost immediately as they slowly joined the wailing sound coming from every single bedroom in the orphanage.

Naturally the killer intent woke everyone so it wasn't long before all the children were gathered together all in their pyjamas ready to flee the giant house. Even the matrons looked ready to cry as they stood there shaking. Yuuto pulled open the backdoor and ushered everyone out taking the lead and shouting orders. Outside was far worse as the pressure only increased as the only form of protection was left behind them.

When Mia had been picked up by Kiko she had hidden her face automatically into the crook of her neck to hide the tears that continued to escape her eyes. Too ashamed to show them. Her a mentally 21 year old crying over a bad feeling. She shouldn't be like this, not when surrounded by actual children. Kiko picked up in order to help speed up the group as they had split into groups of four. Each caretaker being placed in charge of five children before disappearing in a different direction at the intersection as debris rained down on them. They would of been an easier target had they stayed together. The plan was to meet again in the safety room behind the Hokage monument. The only problem was getting there from the other side of the village. Even from the ground the destruction was visible as many routes had been trapped making the ordeal harder. They had been forced to take the longest way as it was the safest but that would be made even longer now with most roads blocked off.

Half way into the walk Mia finally decided she had calmed enough to peek at what was her new home. The sight that stared back at her was not what she had expected. House were falling at a constant rate as people ran around panicked. The screams of people's names had become normal. All you could hear other than the collapsing of buildings were the cries from those in passing. But the one thing that caught Mia attention amongst all the chaos. The people who were jumping from building from building. The jumps they took had to of been metres apart and extremely impossible. It wasn't just one person. There were tons of them jumping and leaping from all directions. Just what kind of world had she been born into that made this a normal sight. No one else found it weird. Nothing about the last hour was normal.

After what felt like an eternity in that hellish pressure the group led by Kiko made it to the safety of the Hokage monument. There must've been hundreds of people attempting to push past the guards onto the stairs leading into a tunnel. They'd have to stand and wait their turn before getting in. Luckily that wasn't a long wait due the group being made up of young children; they had been practically pushed to the front by strangers. They were all dressed in a strange identical green jackets covered in pockets. Many of them wore a metal plate on their forehead with a symbol engraved as well. The light was too dim for Mia to make out the exact design but there definitely was one on there.

As soon as the guards at the front laid eyes on the small cluster of crying children hanging off a distraught woman they felt sympathy towards them. They had witnessed many groups similar to the one in front of them run around helplessly. Just minutes before their arrival they were forced to watch a similar group get crushed by a fallen building. Unable to help from being stuck to deep in the crowd. The sight would haunt them all forever. Without hesitation they were let past to rush up the stairs and away from the madness. Woman and children were the priority which apparently many disagreed with as they shouted abuse.

As the small group reached the end of the tunnel they felt instant relief, they were safe. The only thing left to do was find the rest of them. At the rate people were being pushed in that wouldn't be an easy task. Kiko was going to have to spend all night trying to catch a small glimpse of anyone she knew. Just what she needed after the stress of getting to the monument. There had to of be thousands of people crammed into the small space and she was looking for groups of children and three adults. If they had made it before her anyways. Just great.

For hours she searched for the rest of the original group. The room only getting filled with more people as she pushed deeper inside. Until finally, Kiko heard it, the faint calling of her name. Nestled into the far right corner were Yuuto and Ruri. Kiko was surprised to see Ruri normally bright green hair dyed nearly black. She must have had a very rough path as every inch of her was covered in soot. As she approached the group exhaustion took over as she fell into Yuuto arms taking Mia with her. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was Mia mumbled words of disagreement at being handled so carelessly. Hopefully Suki's group found them soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

The next day was nothing short of a nightmare. Half the village was in ruins. It would take months to completely rebuild everything. But the biggest impact of it all was how many lives were lost that day. It would take years for the village to return to what it had been before the attack. The financial state wouldn't be great either any time soon considering that mission requests would take a dramatic decline. Many that died that night were shinobi and poor civilians that hadn't managed to get to safety. However, no loss was as great as the death of the Fourth Hokage and his family. The death of the Hokage was a shock to the village but the worst fact was the death of his unborn child.

It was a shock how many people managed to fit into the shelter. No one truly knew the extent of it until they all came spilling out filling the streets. Many who were in there were eager to see the extent of damage done to their property. Amongst that group was Yuuto who tried desperately to locate the orphanage. They couldn't afford to lose the building. The attack had made most of the streets almost indistinguishable from each other.

It took Yuuto over 3 hours to find a safe route home whilst watching over fifteen young confused children. Most of them were happily playing with each other. The horror of last night completely forgotten. The village had basically turned into their playground and they were going to take advantage of it. But the odd few looked around anxiously. They had six missing from their group since Suki never appeared last night. That was another reason for Yuuto to rush towards the orphanage. The slight chance that they were already there waiting for them was all he could hope for. As they rounded the corner to their street the children stopped their playing. Nearly all the buildings on the right side had been reduced to rubble. The left just barely standing including the orphanage.

As the group approached the orphanage they couldn't see any signs of life near by. No Suki or her group of children. Kiko was the one who pushed the door open after passing Mia to Ruri so they could enter their home. Well only after she had done a full sweep of every room. After deeming it safe enough to allow the children back in she set about cleaning the house. Attack or not she wouldn't live in a messy house. It only took a few hours to clean the house of all the dust that had fallen. Not including the odd breaks to check on Mia and the other children. They were all acting the same now. Even Mia who had spent most of last night crying was happily mumbling to herself.

By the she had finished the children were complaining. They had only eaten small snacks throughout the day so it was time to feed them the main meal. Good old fish and rice. It never took long to prepare with it being so plain but that was all they could afford. When Mia had seen all the other children eating this weeks ago, she began refusing all her food in favour of the, in her eyes, more appealing food. After dinner it was time for bed. That was all they really needed.

One week had passed since the attack and still no word from Suki. All the caretakers knew what had happened. She like many others had been killed. However, it wasn't until that day that they learnt the truth. They had been right. The mood had dropped, no longer were the matrons thankful for survival. Now they walked with a heavy weight on their shoulders. What if they could have helped her? What if it was them? What if they had just waited outside and not rushed right into the monument? All the what if scenarios playing in their heads. Yet they kept their smiles on for the children.

The only one to really noticed the subtle change in behaviour was Mia. She would watch them all carefully like she had for the past eleven months. The shock had many them forgetting her existence most of the time. She never demanded attention unless she truly couldn't do something like feeding. It was at this moment she was glad to have potty trained herself but that was still a secret from everyone. Although she knew of the mood change she did nothing to change it. They needed to mourn the missing caretaker and none of the children even mentioned the dead children's names. They had become used to the sudden vanishes. It wasn't anything new for them.

A month had gone by in a blink of an eye. The village was mostly repaired but the arua was still one of mourning. The village wide funeral service was held only a week ago. So most still held onto the lingering emotions that caused. From the way things were happening it would seem like the feeling would never leave. The village could never function like this. The only normality would be having a working Hokage. He may not like it but the third was back in power until a more suitable candidate appeared again.

The only constant thing that had happened during the week was the surge of children joining the orphanage. Most of them didn't stay long as some family member would show. Normally crying about how lucky they were to still be alive and have found them. But for the few that didn't get claimed, well they were welcomed into the family they had made. From just fifteen to thirty-eight in just a few days and that was just the ones that didn't get claimed.

Without anyone noticing Mia's first birthday had passed. Nothing special happened just a normal day for the orphanage. Children being walked in and out the front door. Even Kiko had forgotten to spend time with her during her nightly wanders. Now she had the pleasure of improving her climbing skills alone as children spilled out of the bedrooms into any open space available to them. It was chaos but heaven to Mia. She hated being constantly watching her as it restricted how much time she could spend improving. She was currently able to move at a slow running speed, form full sentences with few mistakes, use a toddlers toilet alone and climb over objects at a certain height. But she was most proud of her ability to finally understand what was being said around her even if it was still patchy. Life for her was good just as she wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Over three years had passed since the attack and Mia had grown in many different ways. Both physically and mentally. For one she was able to run without falling over and the dreadful waddling had ended years ago. Her nightly walks had yet to stop, they were her time to truly think about life and advance her new skills in secret. The ones she practiced the most were reading and writing. She had openly shown her interest in it at one and a half but the caretakers didn't teach her until she was two. They had outright refused every time she asked. This caused her to try teaching herself to read after being shown the basics on her second birthday. It took months just to understand one kiddie book but she had done it alone. Writing was the same except she had learned to copy words she knew from the few books scattered about. At four she had advanced far beyond most of the older children as she read the most challenging books with practised ease. All that needed more time was her chicken scratches that some considered writing. Only she could read some of it sometimes.

The biggest thing she learnt was who the men in green were from that night three years ago. More than a few had come by to help out or take a child home. They were ninja or shinobi in this world. Their job being seen as the most prestigious. That was why many orphanages were encouraged to try and become one. It was hard not to become one with the orphanage holding mandatory ninja training to those who showed interest. Mia was the only girl who had. The group consisted of seven boys and Mia, all of who were older than her.

Most of the training for Mia was just basic stretches and the odd kata. She was allowed to practice her throwing skill though when she reached four. The boys didn't enjoy watching that as she bested all but one at it. Her distance may not have been the same as the boys but it always hit the target no matter what before dropping to the floor. They were only allowed to use wooden ones in the orphanage. But Mia knew where Kiko kept her old pouch which had at least 5 kunai and 8 shuriken. One day they would be hers no matter what because with the way things were going she'd end up as a shinobi.

Kiko had ended training early as the orphanage was expecting a special visitor. The Hokage himself wished to see the children for some reason. Ruri had even joked that he was coming to drop a child off. The only thing she could be sure of was that the children would love to see him. Well, all but Mia. She was never happy to see anyone not even the other children. They had given up trying to befriend her. Due to that she had been forced into training by Yuuto who believed it was for the best. A genius would thrive in it. He wasn't wrong she was beating the boys who she had been training for years longer. If she wasn't so physically weak she'd be sparring but she had to build up the muscles first; until then flexibility and endurance would be the main focus. Maybe Yuuto should talk to the Hokage about Mia starting the academy early if she was advancing this quick.

Mia's training session had ended for that day so she had decided to curl up with one of the better books she had found. It was her favourite pastime. It was a shame that today someone decided to interrupt it for her. Her eyes finally left the book to see why the children were screaming. There stood in the door frame was a man draped in all white. The Third Hokage had come to their orphanage for some reason. The old man seemed happy to answer all the questions the children or matrons had to ask him. Mia didn't care too much. She was sure that the story she was reading would beat any he could tell anyway. So she tuned out all outside noise and returned to her book.

For twenty minutes all was fine. The children were happy, the adults were happy, Mia was happy. She had reached the best part and was eager to read it. That's what she would be doing if she could see the pages but someone stood and blocked her only light source. Mia had no choice but to look up and acknowledge the boy that had been staring at her for the past ten minutes. His hair was a startling yellow and deep blue eyes that could transfix anyone. The whiskers on his cheeks were just faint lines. Three on each side evenly spaced and identical to each other. He opened his mouth to speak and for a whole minute Mia had done nothing but stare at him. Nothing made it out.

The voice of the Hokage had taken over "Naruto when did you wander off over here. Why don't you come say hello to everyone?"

The boy now named Naruto turned and walked back before performing the best bow a toddler could manage. Now he actually spoke.

"Hello! My name's Naruto it's nice to meet you all" it was soon followed by the brightest smile possible. The Hokages hand fell on top of the yellow spikes as he patted the boy well done.

"Naruto here will be living with all of you of a short while" the Hokage uttered. With those words he turned and left to speak with Yuuto. That was not what Mia wanted to hear. This boy would be trouble for her.

That was exactly what he was. Almost immediately the children turned to him, asked hoards of questions that the boy couldn't answer. How could a mear child like him know? It soon became apparent to the others that he couldn't answer their questions. With no other need for the small child they disbursed to continue the activity they had been doing before the Hokage had arrived. That included the boy. He had returned to watching Mia. The only person to not get excited to see the Third arrive. He wanted to know why. The thing in her hands couldn't possibly be more interesting. So he stood and watched her flick to the next page and the next and the next. The dam burst.

"What's that?" he blurted at Mia. The shock in his eyes was enough to tell Mia he hadn't meant to say that.

"A book that I would like to read in peace" was her blunt reply. The response just seemed to encourage him more because soon his mouth was set into overdrive. Speaking so fast the words where getting muddled as they came out. Yet that wasn't enough to stop him. So Mia went back to ignoring him just like she did to the other children. He'd leave soon, once he was bored of talking to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto had done nothing but talk since he joined the orphanage. He would talk the ear off of the nearest person he could find. No one ever really listened to him. Yet somehow he had managed to befriend everyone. He had yet to even be there for a week yet people wanted to play with him, even the older kids. This completely confused Mia who saw him as nothing more than a nuisance. He never stopped pestering her, demanding her full attention. Even when she did acknowledge him and responded it wasn't what he wanted. All he did was annoy her. In a single week she had managed to catalog every single thing he had done to warrant a reaction from her.

The first incident was the most minor but still one of the worst possible things he could have done. He pulled the book right from Mia's grasp. She had been on one of the final pages. He couldn't have waited twenty minutes for her to finish. No, this child needed attention twenty-four seven. It lived for the stuff. Mia was raised to be polite, she knew how to share. But that wasn't sharing. She demanded Naruto return the book immediately which he didn't hesitate to refuse. He whined how she hadn't spoken to him at all even though he spoke to her. Of course she hadn't, she was busy. How else does one improve other than to practice? At that moment she was working on her reading. But unbeknownst to him, Mia always carried two books with her. So when he looked away she pulled the second one out. By the time he turned back she was nose deep in another book half turned as she headed to a different room. Naruto wanted to pursue but was called to play something more fun; ninja.

The second incident was worse than the first. It was treat day at the orphanage. Every three months they would be given something different to eat. That day it was meat. Mia had only ever had it one time. So she was looking forward to eating it again. Only something seemed to stop that from happening. A certain blonde hair maniac had run straight into her back sending all her food flying. It was ruined as it landed in a small puddle of juice someone had spilt. The orphanage could only ever afford to buy enough for one serving each. So there lay her only chance of meat. Before he could get a word out Mia had stormed off prepared to starve.

It wasn't long until Naruto had been given his own serving of meat. A thick cut of beef. Now was Mia's only chance of revenge. As Naruto approached the table his path was suddenly blocked as a small black haired girl stood in his way. For a solid minute she did nothing but stare making the boy uncomfortable. In almost perfect slow motion did Naruto watch as her hand raised and fell. Hitting him right in the arm causing his bowl to drop on the floor. His meat making a loud squelch noise as it landed on the floor. Tears welled into his eyes in confusion and sadness. He didn't look up until the girl spoke.

"Next time you should look where you're going" after that she turned causing her hair to fan out and the purple hints to be visible. Her tiny feet marched away towards the door. Her actions had silenced the whole room as they looked on in shock. The quiet, calm way in which Mia had acted out in such a malicious way against Naruto was truly terrifying.

The third and final thing that had happened that week was what made Mia reach her breaking point. They were having a group reading session for all the under-fives. Unfortunately for Mia that included Naruto. During the reading session Ruri encouraged the children to read small sections of the book. Naruto, used to being the attention seeker he was, volunteered to read first. He managed to make it through the passage with little to no mistakes. Of course he hadn't as it was the easiest part in the book to read. Only seven words. Yet he still got praised by everyone until Mia scoffed. Suddenly all attention was on her. Naruto still feeling overjoyed by his praised decided to respond.

"Don't act better than me, I'm smarter than you" he remarked cockily. He didn't get the response he was hoping for. Instead of admitting defeat like he hoped for she laugh. She laughed right in his face. It was as cold and emotionless a four year old could sound. This only angered Naruto further. He slowly climbed to his feet soon joined by Mia. Once stood he snapped back a line he was proud of.

"At least I'm smart enough to make friends" whilst saying this his hands had landed on both his hips adding to the sass. That was the last straw. Using her tiny ineffectual fists she drew first blood. The form was nothing like she was taught but it was enough to cause a nose bleed. She had won once again and he was not having it. She had started a war that would last for years.

Mia may have thought it was a good idea at the time, until she was faced the look of disappointment on Kiko's face. The woman had raised her to be better than that but she didn't care at that point. She had been given the worst punishment possible. All books were to be off limits for a week and she had to spend at least one hour playing with the others. The special treatment was over. Yuuto may have thought the isolation was good but all it did was turn the others against her. She realised this when Naruto successfully plotted to turn all the others against her. That was his revenge. The children no longer ignored her, they gave her their full attention. Mia's peaceful life was gone. Especially since Naruto had just screamed about how the war had started into her right ear.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto wasn't joking when he declared war. For months the two had been at each other's throats. Naruto was the only one capable of getting a true reaction out of Mia, whilst Mia was the only one to wipe Naruto's smile from his face. It was hell for the both of them. Constantly checking behind their backs or laying traps to catch the other before they could do anything. They had gotten better with each prank. The war had lasted that long that everyone was starting to get fed up with the mess it made. Their punishment was always to clean it up.

The war lasted for months that soon Naruto fourth birthday had rolled around before anyone realised. The adults weren't in the mood to celebrate as his birthday fell on the anniversary of the attack. The children however, wished to make a big thing out of it. They even wished to visit the festival that the village held. That idea was quickly shut down by the matrons who wouldn't be able to pay for any of it. Instead they planned to hold a small party amongst themselves. The Hokage had even sent a messenger warning them that he planned to attend for a short while. It was meant to be a surprise for Naruto as he hadn't seen the old man since he dropped him off all those months ago.

The day rolled around and Naruto was beaming with joy as he had turned four finally. He was getting ready to rub it in Mia's face. They hadn't done anything when she turned five. Except she had finally been able to start sparring with the boys in the training sessions. Mia has started at four so Naruto was under the impression that he too would start training now. He ran down in to the dining room so that he could gloat how he'd catch up to her in no time once his training started. His tiny feet planted firmly in front of her and he raised his finger to point.

"Ha soon I'll be able to kick your arse!" He ended it by sticking his tongue out and turning around not giving Mia a chance to respond. Today Naruto would be number one.

That had lasted only two hours when Mia got her revenge by giving him a bag full of sweets. She had taken all the sweets out and changed them for pretty looking rocks she'd been collecting. At first Naruto was surprised to get anything from Mia but shrugged it off as his mouth practically drooled at the idea of eating sweets. He pulled the first one out and examined the wrapping for any tampering. When he found nothing wrong he twisted one end and pushed from the other end so it fell right into his mouth. Then he bite down on it and a loud crunch sound could be heard followed by a small chuckle from next to him. Naruto just sat silently before his head turned to look at Mia and he glared. She had bested him once again until Naruto attempted to spit the stone at her but she dodged to the left just missing it. Now it was her turn to turn and leave.

For the rest of the day Naruto had been thinking of ways to get his revenge on Mia for the sweets. He had yet to come up with anything of use. It was dinner already and he only had a few more hours left. If he didn't get his revenge she would have won for the day. He was distracted when he heard a voice behind him. Naruto hadn't heard it for months so when he turned around to see the Hokage he was beyond happy. He was hugging the man before anyone could say anything. Tears streaming down his face as he saw the man who raised him for three years. A very distant "baby" could be heard but he ignored it. The Hokage didn't. His eyes scanned the room to find the girl who had spoken the word. They finally landed on a small pale girl stood at the back with her nose buried deep into a book. Once Naruto had had his fill of hugs and questions it was time for dinner. The Hokage had stayed the whole time and was getting ready to leave once dinner was over when once again he heard the girl speak to Naruto.

"Thought you were a big boy now." She sounded so condescending for a girl only slightly older than Naruto. Naturally Naruto responded and an argument sparked between the two.

"Well at least someone loves me enough to visit" he remarked back.

"Love doesn't exist" she snipped back.

"You're only saying that because no one will ever love you. Never ever!" Naruto screamed back.

"I don't need someone too I can just love myself" Mia scoffed like the answer was obvious.

"Better hide all the mirrors then so you don't have to see your ugly face" he stated matter of factly. The argument went back and forth like that for at least ten minutes. No one even moving to stop them, they didn't even stop their own conversation to listen in. It would appear that this was a normal occurrence in the orphanage.

It was up to the Third to end it as he had heard enough. A small child shouldn't be saying some of the things that came out the girls mouth. He remembered when he first dropped Naruto off, the owner had mentioned having a genius but he hadn't believed them. A four year old able to read advanced books, form sentences far above the average and throw kunai with perfect accuracy. Such a thing had only ever been heard of in a few rare occasions since the founding of the village. Now he was starting to think Yuuto's words held some truth to them as he listened to the girl speak of love in ways no five year old should be able to. He needed to talk with her.

Once he was close enough to them, Naruto's attention was automatically on him causing the girl's to follow. Her face was set into a scowl from the argument she had been having. He sent her a grandfatherly smile in hopes of getting rid of the scowl. It did the exact opposite as her scowl became more prominent on her face whilst her eyes slowly turned into a glare. She definitely was a strange child. He turned to Naruto instead and asked him a very bad question.

"So who's your little girlfriend here?". He ended it with another smile as Naruto blew up denying everything and proclaiming his utter hate for the girl. During Naruto's little rant the Third had been able to learn the girls name. It was the same one as the girl mentioned last time. Turning his attention away from Naruto to actually speak to the girl.

"Ahh Mia. I've heard a lot about you from Yuuto-san" he proclaimed. The girl said nothing back, just continued to stare at him. Not wanting to end the conversation he continued talking.

"I hear you're very smart. Far above your peers in many different things. You even started ninja training early. That's quite impressive." She stared more, looking him straight in the eye. He couldn't quite figure out why she had gone so quiet when she was talking normally to Naruto just seconds ago. Trying one last chance to get a response he asked her a question.

"Do you wish to become a shinobi for the village?" At this he got a short curt nod. It was better than nothing.

"Why do you wish for that?" he asked as his hand rubbed his greying beard. She was silent for a few seconds before answering.

"I wish to be strong enough to die on my own terms" she said still looking him in the eyes. That was not an answer he had ever heard, especially from a child. The Hokage just hmmmmed before wishing them well and turning to leave. He still had a lot of paperwork to finish. He would never finish that paper work as his mind continued to drift back to what Mia had said. She was a very peculiar girl indeed.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

For the last two weeks the Hokage had been doing nothing but think about the strange girl, Mia. She was an enigma to him. How could a child think of an answer so dark? He had yet to find an answer for that question but it was obvious that she was of above average intelligence. He needed to talk to her again to learn more. That was why he found himself stood in the orphanage once again. The Hokage had to be secretive this time to avoid alerting Naruto. The poor boy would get jealous to learn the Hokage was interested in someone other than him.

When the Third suddenly appeared in the office hidden in the back of the orphanage Yuuto nearly had a heart attack. The man had shown up out of thin air with no warning. When Yuuto had gotten over his initial shock the Hokage was already making demands.

"You wouldn't mind bringing that Kiko woman in here?" he commented. With a nod Yuuto left the room to find the woman in question. Whilst he was on the hunt the Hokage had decided to light his pipe. His stress levels had raised since meeting that girl. It wasn't long until the two were back in the room. Yuuto had failed to mention who had requested her as the shock was evident on her face. She stammered on a brief greeting before asking the big question. Why was he there asking for her?

Pipe still in his mouth, he made them wait until he'd finished the whole thing. Once finished, he turned his undivided attention to them.

"I'm here to talk about Mia." He said it almost like it was normal. It was completely out of the blue but the smile on Yuuto's face showed it wasn't a bad thing. The Hokage had noticed how special she was. Smile still resting on his lips Yuuto responded.

"What is it you want to know about her?"

"Her skills" was the short answer he got. Unfortunately it wasn't a question he could answer and the Hokage knew that. Two sets of eyes slowly drifted to Kiko sat on the desk corner pretending she was invisible.

"Urm she's actually pretty good at everything without much effort if I'm honest" she muttered. The Hokage only waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he made a slight hand gesture to indict he wished for her to continue.

"She has amazing stamina and speed, she'd run for hours if she wanted to. She's flexible as well, constantly hidden in small spaces to avoid everyone. Her aim is impeccable. In the year she's been training with kunai and shuriken, she's never missed the target." At that the Third actually look slightly impressed which made Kiko perk up about talking.

"Her taijutsu is just as impressive. She uses her speed to outrun her opponent and her flexibility makes her kicks all the more dangerous. Oh, she's also good at stealth but that's nothing new. She's always sneaking around sometimes even I don't notice" she finished with a chuckle. That was quite a list for a five year old. All he needed now was to learn her academic capabilities.

"What about her reading and writings? Are they as good as her physical skills?" This caused them both to laugh, confusing Hiruzen. This time Yuuto answered.

"That girl is always begging us to teach her the harder stuff. Dare I even say she's better academically than physically." Now that was enough to raise the Thirds eyebrow.

"Bring her here." It was time to talk again.

Kiko had been gone for five minutes before bringing the girl in. The room had been painfully silent during that time. This was the first time Mia had entered the office as it was off limits to the children. Her eyes wandered the room looking for anything of interest. They found something interesting as it didn't belong there. It was the Hokage. That explained why she was there. He must have been thinking about her answer to his question. It was unusual but it only held the truth. In this world she would die how she chooses and no one else could change that. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the Hokage started to talk to her. It was only small talk so she wasn't to bothered about not hearing it. Instead she just decided to stare at him again. That worked lasted time in moving the conversation onto the important topics. Once again it seemed to work again.

"Mia do you know what the academy is?" For a few seconds she continued to stare. That question just seemed so stupid to her. Of course she knew what an academy was. It's where children got to learn. She wasn't dumb enough to say that though. Instead the basic answer of stating it being a school. The answer caused Hiruzen to smile, most children in orphanages didn't learn of the academy until someone came around to explain it and ask them to join.

"To be more specific it's a school that teaches children the way of the shinobi." He added it almost condescendingly which didn't sit well with her. She didn't think everything revolved around ninjas but so far that belief was being crushed. His next question shocked the adults in the room.

"How about a tour of the place to see how you like it?" That was something Mia could agree to. It would help her achieve her goal of getting strong. At the nod the Third smiled whilst clapping his hands.

"Perfect! I'll be back in three hours to walk you there." With those parting words he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Mia was actually excited for this. She had caught the attention of the village leader and was now getting the chance to learn more. She couldn't wait for a challenge. Her grasp on the language was incredible. It shocked the adults how fluent she spoke. Having the mind of a now twenty-six year old certainly helped in understanding more complicated things. She still hadn't forgot her native tongue but she was smart enough not to speak it to an audience. The words were becoming harder to pronounce as her tongue no longer moved in the proper way, too used to her new language. She did keep a small black book filled with some words she found fun, her handwriting was still atrocious so it was safe for now.

The three hours passed slowly as Mia attempted to quash her excitement. Not even a book could distract her. She thought of messing with Naruto but felt no obligation to go out of her way to start it. She was always the one to finish it and it would stay like that for as long as she said so. After exactly three hours she was stood just outside the main doors to see the same swirl of leaves dance around the Hokage. He really did keep his word. That was a bonus point for him. He didn't move from his spot so Mia adventured out of the building towards him. As she reached his side he placed a hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair like she was a dog. How dare he, she seethed for the whole fifteen minute walk about being treated with such disrespect. Although she was angry she made sure to note where they were walking and the route.

As they rounded a corner, a tall red building blocked out the bright autumn sun that hung low in the sky. They kept walking towards the building so she assumed this was the academy that she was getting a tour of. At the gate to enter stood a man. He looked no older than mid-teens yet he looked on with the confidence of an adult. They stopped right in front of him as he bowed to the Hokage showing his respect. The two began a conversation that Mia mostly tuned out to examine the building. It was far more fascinating than them. She heard her name a few times but didn't turn around until she felt a tap on the shoulder. It was the young man. He had a long scar that ran across his nose and spiky brown hair in a ponytail. He was average at best she though.

"You must be Mia, I'm Iruka Umino I'll be in charge of your tour today." She nodded her head to confirm she understood. Then turned to the Hokage in question.

"Guess it's goodbye for now then old man" she stated with no real emotions. Hiruzen chuckled as she used the same nickname as Naruto. Iruka didn't find it as amusing as he started a lecture on the importance of respect. It was obvious she wasn't listening any more so the Third wished the teen farewell and disappeared to do more paperwork. Mia looked at Iruka and waited for his instructions. He said nothing, instead choosing to stare at her to see how she liked it. Mia won the staring contest after thirty seconds of silence.

"Sooooooo… lets get this tour started then" and with that Iruka took off towards the door hoping the small girl followed. The Hokage had warned him of her strange behaviour beforehand but it was worse than he expected. Maybe it would get better during the tour.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

The tour wasn't much of anything. It mostly consisted of walking through the long winding corridors. It was no good to Mia if she planned to join. She had to know what a lesson was like here. So she asked the man giving her the tour. He turned his head to look at her for a second then answered with a brief no before continuing with the tour. That was the first time she had directly spoken to him in the short amount of time he'd known her. Her question was surprising if he was honest. Why would she want to join a lesson? It didn't matter anyways as they were only halfway through one when she asked. That didn't stop her from asking every five minutes until finally he gave in and allowed her to join the youngest group.

When Iruka walked into the classroom right as the lesson was about to end it surprised the children. Most teachers waited until the day was over to ask each other questions. The two teachers exchanged words for a few minutes when they were dismissed for break early. The room erupted into conversation. Without anyone noticing Iruka left and a small girl took his place. She found herself an open space on one of the desks and just silently stared forward. Too soon the break was over and lessons started again. The girl was still sat there unnoticed by everyone but the teacher.

As the lesson progressed Mia began to become more interested. They were talking about surviving in the woods. She had never learnt anything like this, so focused all her attention on retaining as much as possible. The teacher had noticed the girls attention, unlike his normal students who didn't care, she did. He took a leap of faith and asked her a question related to what he mentioned at the start.

"When camping what sleeping gear is needed?" He nodded in Mia's direction to show who he had picked to answer the question. Suddenly all attention was on the girl no one had noticed before. Most were confused as to how she got in not her answer. Only the teacher really wanted to know if she could answer.

"A sleeping mat, a sleeping bag and thermal layers for protection when in foreign countries like Sunagakure." He hmmmmm'd at her blunt answer. It was correct so he decided to test her truly.

"What about a pillow?" He hadn't mentioned anything about them in his lecture so her response should be interesting.

"The pack would be used. Pillows are too big to carry and would take up too much space. Using the pack seems like the most logical thing to do unless someone wants to rest their head on the floor." She added a slight shrug at the end of her hadn't been expecting an actual thought out answer. Most children would assume that ninja carried pillows with them at the start.

"Good answer Mia. That's impressive to say this is your first lesson at the academy" he remarked. That surprised the children. They had thought she had come from a different class temporarily since they didn't recognise her. They could tell she was younger than them but to not even be in the academy with intelligence like that was crazy.

In the back of the classroom a boy glared in the girls direction. He was meant to be the smartest. He had to put her in her place. He raised his hand lazily which caught his sensi's attention. He nodded once again.

"What if the shinobi didn't have a pack and it wasn't safe to put his head on the ground?" It was a reasonable question that stumped the sensi. However, the little girl decided to respond which pissed the boy of further.

"They should sleep sitting up leaning against something then." She acted like it was the obvious answer.

"What if there isn't anything to lean against?" he argued back.

"A good shinobi wouldn't stop in an exposed space to sleep." There was not much else he could say to that without further embarrassment so he stayed quiet. The teacher was amazed. The language she used in her answers was above that of many children he had taught. He wouldn't mind taking the girl on to join his class so long as she caught up with all the work.

The class ended with no more incidents. Iruka came back to collect her and learn about her behaviour in the lesson. He was shocked to hear that his colleague would ask the girl a question when he knew she had never been taught before. The fact she answered correct stopped Iruka mid rant as his brain could no longer compute. Instead of talking more with him. Iruka decided to end the tour there. He collected Mia who was stood by the door waiting. She was receiving many funny looks from students due to sensi's remark about her not being a student. The looks continued until they had rounded a corner near the gate where students were banned from during the day. He had learnt his lesson from trying to talk to her so instead looked for someone walking towards them. The girl couldn't walk alone. No one showed up for awhile so Mia decided it was time to tell him that she was expected to walk home. He wasn't happy but couldn't really stop her from going.

That was exactly what she did. She could recall the route the Hokage had taken her so it didn't take long to see the orphanage doors come into view. She walked right into the building not once looking back behind her to check if she was being followed. She already knew that three men in masks were following her. They had been there the whole time so she figured that the Hokage had left them for her. All they really did was watch from a distance. At first she thought they were there for her safety but she had no reason to worry about that whilst in one of the safest buildings in the whole village. She finally settled on it being a test. They were there to report back to the Hokage based on how she performed at the academy. Hopeful she put on a good show for him.

As soon as she entered the main room Naruto had pounced on her asking question, after question. He kept repeating the question "where were you?" as if it was any of his business. Mia just ignored him and continued until she reached her bedroom. She had a lot to think about. By the time she reamerged it was dinner time and Naruto had a second chance to interrogate Mia. He had been looking for her for hours so he could prank her. She was always easy to find since she never hid away. So when he couldn't find her, Naruto panicked. He'd never admit it but when he saw her walk through the front doors he was happy. Mia was the only one who didn't treat him special for knowing the Hokage. He was pretty sure that Mia only ever really spoke to him and one of the matrons who trained her. Kiko was the only one Mia really smiled at, always small and in secret but Naruto noticed.

So when he approached her again to continue his questioning, he saw the small smile there again. They were in the middle of a conversation that seemed to hold Mia's full attention. The only word he really heard was academy. Thinking the conversation too boring to listen to he walked away to eat. He would get his answers soon.

The next day there was a small letter left on Mia's bedside table. It unnerved her that some one had stood so close to her without permission. Pushing those thoughts to the side she tore the letter open. It was written in neat handwriting that came with years of calligraphy practise. As she scanned through the contents she realised it was a summons by the council. They wished to talk with her and Kiko about her future as a Konohagakure shinobi. She had been right about the test. They wanted to see if she could handle being in the academy before allowing her to even apply. By the way the letter read she didn't seem to have much choice now anyways. She would be declared a genius if she passed one more test given by the council in two weeks time.

When she walked down stairs, instead of going to her normal table she walked into the office. She didn't bother knocking as she was holding something of great importance that meant manners could wait for another day. In the room were all three caretakers; Yuuto, Kiko and Ruri. She presented the letter to Kiko which completely silenced the room. When she read the letter she couldn't keep the smile off her face. Kiko was so proud of Mia. She passed the letter to Yuuto to read whilst she hugged and congratualted Mia for being so smart and how they needed to celebrate. She continued to rant about it for hours that the others finally snapped at her to stop which thankfully she did. Tomorrow would be an interesting day for them both.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Mia was getting ready to leave for her meeting with Kiko. They had celebrated the night before. It was basically just Kiko smuggling Mia sweets after dinner so none of the other children would notice and get jealous. Mia loved Kiko. She had never failed to be there for her since she was a baby. If Kiko had woken up on time they would have already left for the meeting. They were lucky that it would only be a twenty minute walk and they had thirty minutes until the meeting. They would just make it with enough time to look presentable. Footsteps could be heard heading towards the door as Kiko rounded the corner already encouraging Mia out chanting that they're late.

When they did make it to the meeting point, the Hokage tower, they were both panting from having to run half of the way. Their normal route had been far busier than they expected. The secretary was not amused by the sight of them. They looked completely out of place in the building as ninja and business people shuffled around them. No other children in sight at all, making Mia stand out even more. Kiko handed the lady the letter to confirm their appointment. She took it and began scanning a long list of people, she was ready to turn them away when at the very bottom of the note the secretary noticed the Hokage signature. He only ever signed letters that were of great importance. So she turned with a sour look on her face and pointed them to a row of chairs and a quiet please wait there. They did just that.

After waiting twenty minutes someone finally approached them. They were dressed in shinobi gear but it wasn't the normal green colour. This man was wearing a dark grey vest and a white mask painted like a dog. He gestured for them to follow him inside the room he had just vacated. Without waiting to check they were in fact following he turned and walked back in. After a few seconds the pair stepped into the room. He was already gone when they entered. Inside it was dimly lit with only a large table and chairs surrounding it. All the chairs were occupied by someone. Each of them had their own unique features that made them stand out. The person who demanded the most attention was the man covered in bandages. He let off an aura that left Mia feeling dirty. He sat opposite the only face she knew; the Hokage. It was him who spoke first.

"Welcome Mia, I hope you had a nice tour of the academy." She just nodded once again. She wasn't expecting to see him again so soon. She just stood there numbly. She wasn't used to seeing so many people like this, especially in one room. The Hokage didn't continue with the small talk anymore.

Now it was someone else talking to her. No one ever addressed Kiko who was stood slightly behind Mia. They were taking it in turns to ask her questions.

"Mia have you thought about attending the academy one day?" asked the only woman in the room. Instead of nodding like normal she verbally responded.

"If the academy would accept me I'd love to attend." That seems to satisfy the woman as someone else asked her a question.

"So you think you have the skills to join?" This time it came from a man with very pale skin almost the same shade as hers. That was all she could tell with the lighting.

"Skills can be improved with time. The academy is there to help people do such thing so my current level shouldn't have any impact. Children should be allowed in no matter their skills." Unlike with the woman, the man was not impressed with her response. He looked ready to argue against Mia's point when someone else asked a question. This one managed to stump her.

"Do you know what chakra is?" Kiko had only gone over the topic briefly. Either way she would answer to the best of her ability.

"It's what flows through every living being to keep them alive" she said it with only the tiniest hint of confidence unlike the other times she spoke. The man didn't say she was correct or incorrect. Instead he spent ten minutes going into great detail as to what it really was. After the first few seconds she began to zone out not caring a great amount. When he had finished and someone could actually ask another question Mia started to pay attention again. It was a good thing too as the question was of interest to her.

"Can you access your chakra?" She had never even thought of trying so she just shook her head no. She really wanted to try now. Almost as if reading her mind the man asked,

"Do you want to?" She looked directly at the man who had asked the last two questions. It was the man wrapped in bandages. As much as the man freaked her out, chakra seemed to be very important in this world if the snippets from the rant she heard minutes before was anything to go by. You couldn't become a ninja without it. So without much hesitation she nodded her head. The man hmmmmed in satisfaction.

The questions continued for another hour. They were all basic ones she could answer with ease. Most of them the Hokage could of told them himself instead of summoning her; they were that easy. At the end she was asked to go stand outside again whilst Kiko stayed inside. Looking at Kiko for reassurance that it was ok, she headed towards the door she had entered through. That was until the masked man stopped her. Turning the Hokage discreetly pointed to another door hidden at the side. It seemed that was the door she was meant to use. As she moved towards it the man never left her side almost like a shadow. She hadn't even seen where he was hidden.

She and the masked man were the only ones in the room. He was staring directly at her still not speaking. She now understood how uncomfortable it could make people. In the corner were two chairs and a small coffee table in the middle. Mia chose to ignore the man's presence as she sat down. He followed suit sitting in the opposite chair. They sat in silence for a few minutes when finally the man spoke.

"I'm going to unlock your chakra pathways now." Not the best sentence to start a conversation with but Mia didn't protest. Instead she just nodded

"Is there anything I need to do?" She slowly turned to look at him as she spoke. Not needing to speak all he did was shake his head before his hand was suddenly pressed against her forehead. Her eyes widened in shock and stayed like that at the strange sensation she could now feel flowing from the man's palm all around her body. It felt foreign at first but soon turned calming when it reached her stomach. It continued to spread until her whole body felt calm and relaxed. Then the man removed his hand and the feeling disappeared immediately. A small sound of protest passed her lips before she could stop it. Her face flushed red and she turned her head in the opposite direction. The whole ordeal had felt like seconds but had lasted forty-five minutes. Soon the door opened and Kiko walked in with a man. His hair was very similar to the teacher she had met at the academy. His face was also sporting two scars but they ran diagonally instead of horizontal.

He didn't say anything but looked straight to the man in the mask who nodded his head. Mia was getting ready to turn her head towards the masked man just to see the chair empty. He had vanished yet again without her noticing. Finally the scarred man spoke.

"You'll be starting the academy in two days. The council decided that you showed enough maturity in the interview to be able to handle all the stress that will come with being a shinobi in training. "He turned to glance at Kiko before speaking again. "We've already been briefed on your skill set which is of a very high quality. We expect only the best from you due to this exception that we are making. Your caretaker has been given money to buy your supplies and if you choose, a private tutor can be arranged." It was a lot for Mia to take in. She had already been signed up for the academy. At least the personal tutor sounded like a great benefit. She voiced that opinion.

"I would greatly appreciate a tutor Ninja-san." She added a slight bow at the end to show some respect. This person had just helped her. He nodded and turned to leave before throwing one sentence over his shoulder.

"Also I don't recommend using your chakra for at least a week." With that over Mia and Kiko were free to leave. Kiko was happy they had let her in but Mia didn't seem to be as happy as she expected. Instead she stayed quiet the whole walk home, going straight to the reading corner when they got back. She was the only one who used it so she had space to think about what just happened.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Mia was still lost in thought the next day. She had yet to leave the corner. The matron had found her sleeping lightly in the corner the next morning. They decided to let her sleep until breakfast was ready. She had a lot to take in, but no one knew why it caused her to think so much. Maybe they were wrong and she wasn't ready to start. It was too late to turn back now. Breakfast was quick to make so Ruri decided to wake Mia up on her way to get the others. She sat up groggily after a few shakes. After rubbing her eyes with her small hands she muttered a sleepy thank you Ruri-san before a yawn took over. Ruri left to get the other for breakfast. soon she had received a greeting from many sleepy children who slowly followed her to get their food.

Mia had not moved from her corner when Ruri got back yet she was happily eating her food there. The distant look still in her eyes. Ruri thought it would be best to leave her alone until she had eaten her food, then get her to move. However, a certain four year old blonde had a different idea. He went sliding passed everyone with a cup full of fresh water. He stopped next to Mia. She had been ignoring him since yesterday, they may constantly be at each other's throat but Mia had never ignored him. She sometimes even went out of her way to talk to him. Even if it was just an insult or for him to pass a message on to everyone. Naruto was the only one she did that to. So when she didn't acknowledge his presence he raised the cup above her head and poured the contents onto her head. The shocked gasp woke Mia out of her distracted state.

"Get yourself together!" Naruto screamed at her. She just blinked for a few seconds whilst wiping water out her eyes. Finally she spoke.

"You're right, thank you Naruto." The answer silenced the whole room as they had never known her to say a nice thing to Naruto let alone admit he was right. Not taking in what she said Naruto continued to speak.

"You've been ignoring me and you never do that!" He pouted slightly at the end. It was then the words she spoke registered. He just stopped functioning as Mia stood up to go change into dry clothing. She didn't look back too embarrassed about what happened.

After breakfast, Kiko offered Mia to go shopping for the supplies they would need. She was just happy to see her up and about and wanted to take advantage of it in case she closed off again. When Mia agreed Kiko felt a smile form on her lips. They set about getting ready to leave and before long they were walking down the road towards the market place. All they really needed before they left was the money Kiko had been given and a list of supplies they needed. It was mostly just a long list of textbooks she would need for her time in the academy.

It wasn't difficult to find everything as they made a separate list detailing where the items could be found and the price. All the money left over would be saved for the next year. Although it was easy to find all of the books, there was still quite a few. They had managed to accumulate at least twenty books, four notepads and a variation of writing equipment. The walk back was hell for them both. It didn't help that both Mia and Kiko ended up arguing with each other. Mia wished to be able to walk to the academy on her own but Kiko argued she was still too young. Of course Kiko was right but Mia felt it would be unfair on the other children if Kiko spent large portions of time with her when they had younger children that needed the attention. Three caretakers could barely look after all the children they had now. Losing one right after breakfast would be bad. She kept those worries to herself though. Instead going with a different tactic.

"But I'd be walking with the others in the academy. Are you saying you don't trust them?" Kiko signed in defeat at that.

"Trial and error. Anything bad happens and you will get walked to the academy. No arguing!" Kiko stated with a stern look in her eyes. Mia nodded knowing this was the best she would get.

By the time they got home most of the children were inside waiting for their lunch to be cooked. Seeing all the bags that they both carried many of the older ones got jealous. Why had she gotten new stuff when they hadn't? They were swarmed. All of them demanding to know why they couldn't have new stuff. Kiko tried and failed to calm everyone down. They weren't really focused on her but Mia. So she told them the truth.

"I've been enrolled at the academy to study how to become a ninja. These are all the books that will be needed. The council granted Kiko-san with the money so the orphanage isn't paying for anything." Most kids didn't care after that. But some were jealous that she got to join the academy early but knew that she was better than them. Only a hand full protested the loudest being Naruto. He had yet to start training because Kiko had been too focused on sorting other things out. Kiko could feel a headache forming, so as calm as she could she offered to train Naruto as soon as she had the time. They needed to hire more staff. Naruto stopped complaining so much as he believed his deal was better than being stuck in a classroom. After that the day went on as normal. No one paid Mia any attention and she got to flick through her new books.

The next day rolled around. The routine was the same for everyone except Mia. She was the only one joining the academy that term from the orphanage. So after the wake up call instead of going straight to get breakfast Mia decided to pack her bag and get dressed. She wore practical clothes, plain black leggings and a baggy navy top. Over the top she wore a sleeveless black hoodie so her forearm was exposed. On her feet were a pair of standard sandles she had gotten yesterday. Her hair was left down to blow in the autumn wind as she hated having it up. It was all finally sinking in. She was joining the academy. The nerves were forming slowly in the pit of her stomach.

She didn't want to see anyone, so when she got downstairs she completely missed the dining room, intending to wait just outside for the older children. As she approached the door a small bundle of yellow become obvious. Naruto was stood waiting by the door, he had predicted what she planned to do. Mia stopped just before him. When he did speak it wasn't in his normal loud whiny voice but in a calm determined one. She had never heard him speak like that.

"I'll catch up with you soon Mia, we'll stand on equal ground one day and you'll have to respect me." Mia was shocked by that. She believe he wanted to be better than her, not be her equal. This boy was more unpredictable than she though. She moved to walk out the door. Her hand on the door knob, she turned.

"I look forward to that day Naruto." and with a quick smile in his direction she was out of the door. Mia would never admit it out loud but those few words helped to calm her growing nerves. He had been helping her a lot these past few weeks.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer all characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

The walk to the academy took longer than it had before. All the other children thought it would be a good idea to take a detour for some free sweets. She soon stopped thinking negatively when the kind old lady passed Mia her own bag as well. On the bag was written a small good luck. Mia decided she liked that old woman. Although, it was only a little detour, three roads longer than the normal one, Mia barely made it on time to the ceremony. They had already started to form lines so she joined the closest one to her.

The older children had warned her of how boring it would be. The Hokage had a tendency to go on and on. She should have believed them. Instead she shrugged it off thinking it was just them exaggerating. That was until he spent thirty minutes going on about the will of fire and their newfound responsibility. Most of the other children had joined with their friends so they had someone to talk to. Quiet mutters could be heard from every direction. Mia was sure that the Hokage noticed becaused not long after that he brought his speech to an end. Only to be replaced by a teacher. Luckily this was just to announce that teachers would begin shouting out names. The teacher that read off the names would become the teacher for those people. Three teachers had collected their class before Mia was called. She was the last one to be shouted as she had no last name.

The class had basically already walked off before Mia had found them so she was forced to follow the person closest to her. Her classroom was on the ground floor so it was easy to learn the way. She figured they put all new years in the easiest rooms to find so they could learn their way around. She thought this as she remembered all the winding corridors from her tour. The class entered room thirteen which was full of rows of desks. The desks were long with attached benches. The benches had room to fit four people at a push. Many of which were already occupied by those who got there first. Mia took the middle seat on the third row from the back as the window seat was already taken. Once all the seats were taken, she had been put into a full class, the teacher spoke up.

"So I guess I should say welcome! For the next four years I will be your teacher." He then turned around to write something on the board. When he walked away his name was written across the whole board.

"My name is Toshi and you can call me Toshi-sensi. Now time for some introductions, I'd like to know who my students before we start." He smiled then pointed to the boy sat by the window for him to start. After him Toshi-sensi pointed down the line until he arrived at the boy sat next to Mia. He looked towards the front before lazily standing up.

"Uchiha Hitoshi" with that he sat back down. He added no extra information and people seemed to be ok with it. Then it was Mia's turn, she stood whilst taking a look at all her classmates faces.

"My name is Mia, I have no last name." She bowed and that was it. He moved on to the next students. As Mia turned to look out the window she noticed Hitoshi staring at her. When she caught him, he let out a grunt and turned around. All the teacher did after introductions was outline all the lessons they would take and their importance. A sheet was passed around with the timetable on.

Soon it was break time and they were given thirty minutes to themselves. Mia thought it was the perfect time to flip through a book she had brought. The boy sat in the middle row turned to talk to Hitoshi but his gaze kept wandering to Mia. After staring for a few minutes he asked the question that had obviously been bugging him.

"Hey Bookworm! Why don't you have a last name?" He looked genuinely curious. Mia had to think of the best way to put it.

"I never had any parents so I couldn't take their last name. I'm happy without one." The boy just looked confused.

"Why don't you just make one up?" Mia didn't need to answer this as his friend slapped the back of his head.

"You don't just make up names, stupid" he retorted back. His friend didn't appreciate that.

"Just because you're an Uchiha doesn't make you better than me!"

"I never said I was better than you."

The boys went back and forth until Mia burst out laughing. They were just like her and Naruto. Both boys looked sheepish when they heard her laughing. They had completely forgotten they had an audience. The boy sat in front finally introduced himself and his friend to Mia.

"Oh I'm Isao and this guy here is Hitoshi. Wanna be friends? It can be my apology for being rude earlier." He had jerked his thumb towards Hitoshi during all of this. When Hitoshi didn't protest to Mia becoming their friend she agreed. She had never had any friends, the closest she had was Naruto.

Mia soon learnt that both boys were smart. That had managed to keep up with her during every lesson; they had maths and Japanese so far. They were currently at lunch, sat under a tree eating bentos. Off handedly Isao decided to say "Mia you know you're way too smart. I had to skip questions just to keep up with you." Hitoshi nodding along with his friend. Mia's mouth gaped open. They had been keeping up with her. Finally she laughed which confused the boys.

"I was admitted into the academy because of my intellect." Both boys were silent, confused.

"So you don't want to be a ninja?" they asked in sync.

"Of course I want to be a ninja, it has the best benefits!" Mia said defensively. It was the boys turn to laugh at her.

"You're an odd one Mia." Hitoshi added. Mia sat with a blank look on her face. How was she the odd one? Her face told the boys how she felt about being called odd. Before he could clarify a teacher yelled for them all to enter for the last lesson of the day.

The rest of the day went on fine from then on. Mia made sure to slow down her pace so the boys could keep up. In a blink of an eye the day was over. Mia was walking towards the gate with her new friends when she saw the others from the orphanage waiting for her to join them. As she was turning to bid her friends goodbye the eldest of the group shouted over to her. Not having time to give them a proper farewell she waved over her shoulder as she ran to the group. Over all she had had a good day. She couldn't wait to tell Kiko about her new experience.

The whole way home the others were asking her questions about how her first day went. It was the best day she could remember. When they got home Mia headed straight to Kiko. She sat talking for hours about her first day. Kiko was surprised Mia could talk so much. It was like sitting next to Naruto. Speaking of he had been hiding behind the corner listening the whole time. It was almost as if he was too afraid to walk in the room. At some point Mia noticed Kiko staring off into the direction of Naruto. The two locked eyes.

"Naruto!" Mia screamed. The boy turned and took off in an opposite direction. Mia followed not to far behind. When she caught him in the playground they both went tumbling to the floor. Mia couldn't help the laugh that exploded out of her. She had hid her emotions all her life and today they had all come spilling out. It was so bad she couldn't help but tell everything to him. Before Naruto could ask she had started ranting about the guy who reminded her so much of him. She went on about how they had become friends. For an unknown reason Naruto could feel jealousy burn inside him. Mia, the girl who had once only spoke to him had new friends that changed her. He wasn't sure if he was happy or upset. He would learn soon enough.


	15. Chapter 15

Mia had been at the academy for a full three weeks now. Everything had been going well for her, she had gotten full marks on all tests and homework's during the time. She held the top spot in the class. It didn't sit well with a few but Hitoshi and Isao always stood up for her. The boys learnt that Mia wouldn't say much, just sat and read a book. They didn't mind; she opened up when they went to the park. Isao's older brother had offered to take them on a regular basis. That was the only way MIa was allowed.

At the park they usually played ninja; one would be the enemy and the other had to catch him. Mia was the reigning champion when Isao's brother didn't play. When they arrived today the air felt different. Mia could see more parents gossiping over something. As they were walking to the grass she overheard part of a conversation.

"Did you hear, the demon isn't dead."

"Yea i heard that too apparently he reincarnated into a boy."

"What's the village going to do with him?"

"Hopefully kill it, the boy is only an orphan no one will miss him."

"Do you know the name?"

"It's N…"

Before she could hear the name Hitoshi had started to drag her away. She was curious if this so called demon was an orphan like her. She'd learn soon enough. As confused as she was, the whole ordeal was pushed to the back of her mind. She had a game to win.

They were in the middle of a game when Hitoshi suddenly stopped. His eyes were being drawn the east entrance. Two boys stood there looking around. The smallest of the two took off running straight towards them. The distance must have only been like fifty feet but the boy took his time running over. When he did make it he stopped right in front of Hitoshi to babble on about his onii-san. The older one had finally moved over towards them during the small boys rant. His eyes looked at Mia and Isao in turn before talking to the boy.

"Sasuke you shouldn't run off like that."

"It's fine because you're a ninja and could save me." The ninja part caught Mia's attention. The boy was obviously around their age so how could he be a ninja already? Then she saw it. The headband shining off his forehead. Being the idiot he was, Isao went off without even learning who they were. He complained loudly about the interruption of the game. Mia and Hitoshi were used to it so instead Hitoshi introduced them to the rest of the group.

"These are my cousins Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, we're the only ones in the clan under the age of ten." Isao was still complaining about the game which caused Sasuke to want to play.

"Can I play with you?" the look in his eye made it hard to say no. But the game was only meant for three players.

"You can take my place." Mia waved her hands in the air so he knew who had spoken. She then turned to sit under a tree. Not long after Itachi came to join her. The silence stretched until it was awkward.

"So you're a ninja. What's it like?"

"Different"

"Bet you learn all sorts of secrets"

"Hmmm"

"Like who the demon boy is" This made Itachi stop. He finally looked down at the girl. She shouldn't have known anything about a demon boy. She had said it so offhandedly an average chunin would have answered her question without thinking. She was smart. Itachi chose not to answer that question. They both just stayed there in silence.

Around twenty minutes into the game Isao began to complain again. He stated that no one under the age of seven should be allowed to play the game because they were slow and weak. Sasuke didn't take well to being called weak as he started to protest. All that stopped when they all saw Mia begin to walk off. Confused, Isao asked what the hell she was doing.

"You said no one under the age of seven should play. If I can't play why would I stay?" The silence that followed was caused by the major shock. Instead of one of her friends asking it was Itachi who asked her age.

"How old are you then?"

"I'm five." Her friends were frozen in shock. They both had been beaten by a five year old without knowing. Itachi was impressed someone had joined the academy before he had. Mia didn't go back to join the game. Instead she continued to walk home. It was cold anyway so she didn't plan to stay long.

When she got home things were different. She didn't hear the usual laughter coming from the main room. It was almost silence. This was confusing to Mia as Naruto was always filling the building with sound. She adventured further into the building to see what had happened. When she passed the dining room entrance she noticed that Naruto was sat isolated on the only broken table. No one ever used it so to see Naruto, who was normally the centre of attention, sat there alone shocked her. Mia contemplated asking what was wrong when the sound of laughter filled the corridor. All the children were sat hiding under the stairs. Wanting to investigate Mia approaches them.

"What are you doing under here?" One of the elder kids sat to the front answered.

"Avoiding Naruto." Mia was taken aback by that. Everyone loved Naruto when she left for school that morning. What could of happened during those short few hours she was away. Her mind wandered to the conversation she had overheard at the park. Naruto couldn't possibly be a demon.

So she asked the kids what their reason was.

"Yuuto said that he caused the death of Suki." He would have remembered her as he was one of the eldest in the whole orphanage, five when the attack happened.

Mia choose to ignore them all and find Naruto. She knew that was impossible. He would have just been born. So when she entered the dining room Naruto's head shot up. He hadn't expected people to come near him. His eyes landed on Mia, he wasn't in the mood to deal with her taunting. Everyone had been saying he was evil. He didn't need to hear it from Mia. She didn't stop moving towards him until she was sat on the bench across from him. She sat there for at least five minutes with just Naruto staring at her.

"You know you didn't do anything." His eyes widened when he heard that. Why would Mia, the girl that always mocked, him take his side? It truly was a mystery to him. She didn't say anything else after that. They both just sat together in silence; this was comforting to Naruto who had just watched all his friends abandon him.

Mia was not happy with what had happened. The matrons were there to help the children become friends not hate each other. That was the only reason why they didn't avoid her. What confused her though was that Kiko didn't do anything to stop this from happening. She didn't know who Suki was but they were apparently important enough to everyone here to ruin a child's life. She just didn't understand. She may not admit it but she only really cared about two people in the orphanage; she was angry at one and worried about the other. For a girl who didn't like emotions, she certainly has been showing a lot of them recently.


	16. Chapter 16

Five months had passed since everyone started accusing Naruto of been a demon. Instead of the rumours dying out, they became even more hateful. The children all avoided him like he had the plague at the orphanage and parents would force their kids away. Nobody went near him unless they had to. When they did it was to hurl insults. The adults never tried to stop them as they too would insult him. All he had left was Mia. Naruto wasn't even sure if they were friends as they still argued and pranked each other. But she always avoided using the words demon, monster and killer. Friends or not Naruto clung to her with everything he had. The others didn't think about him when she was near. But she wasn't always there.

Mia spent a lot of time with Hitoshi and Isao during her time at the academy. They were either at the park or the Uchiha compound. After the surprise that was Mia's age, Itachi had taken a strange attachment to Mia. He wanted to know if she was like him; a genius. This made Sasuke jealous of her which everyone found amusing. It was all so funny watching Sasuke rant about how much better his onii-san was. It had become routine to go over and talk to the Uchiha brothers as Hitoshi had never really bonded with them that much. Now all three of them were as close as possible. They had planned to spend as much time together during their break from the academy as they could as they only had one day left. Then they were free for a month.

However, their plan was ruined when Toshi-sensei requested that Mia come back the next day. He never shared why. But Mia, wanting to do the best possible agreed thinking it was some extra credit. Although, she only agreed on one condition, that she be allowed to bring someone with her. The teacher agreed. So when the next day rolled around Mia was taking a small stroll with Naruto trailing behind her. He always asked what it was like at the academy so she thought it would be best to just show him. The teacher was not expecting to see a short blonde child come waddling after Mia. Especially not the demon child. His eyes slowly formed into a glare as he stared longer at the child. The tension in the air was palpable. Naruto began to fidget.

Naruto didn't feel welcomed so he turned and whispered in a not too quiet voice.

"Mia I don't think I should stay." His fidgeting intensified. The sensei didn't take too kindly to hearing this. How dare the demon insult him by ignoring his presence?

"Mia when I agreed to let you bring someone I didn't mean a stray off the streets. So why don't you put him back where he belongs?" With a dead look in her eyes she stared deep into his soul

"He is as much as stray as I am. He goes I go." Surprise spread across both Toshi and Naruto's face immediately. Mia had just disrespected her sensei for some killer in human skin. The sensei could do nothing but stand with his mouth gaping like a fish.

After getting over his initial shock Toshi-sensei proceeded to explain why he asked Mia to come in. She was to complete four tests in eight hours. He avoided telling her why. He felt that she would purposely fail if she knew his plan.

"Ok you have two written tests and two physical tests to complete. I'll tell you your grades when the academy starts up again." She nodded just wanting to get over with it. She was starting to regret bring Naruto if it was going to take eight hours. It was a miracle if he sat still for more than ten minutes. But he was here now so no turning back.

It was time to start to the exams. The written ones went first as it would be the easiest to do when not physically exhausted. Instead of stopping she plowed through them with time to spare. She continued to write until she had completed all of the written tests. She wanted to avoid distractions so she never looked up at the clock. When she finally put her pen down she saw that she still had an hour and a half remaining of the original four hours. Still refusing to take a break she urged Toshi-sensei to start the physical exam right after. It was lucky that Naruto had found a way to distract himself. He was pranking her teacher for the insults when they first arrived. Due to his distraction he didn't notice that what Mia had done should of been considered incredible.

The physical would be the hardest. Mia was able to relay on her past memories for all the basic things. But now she only had her new memories. Mia followed her sensei towards the training grounds at the back. Walking through the doorway she saw someone she never expected to see again. In the centre of a circle stood Iruka. He smiled and wave at Mia when she came into view. She stopped in front of him ready for what he had to say.

"Well looks like we meet again."

"It would seem that we have."

"Anyways no time for pleasantries we need to start this test. Today we'll be testing you on taijutsu and accuracy." Mia just nodded for him to continue.

"You'll have till I throw you out of this ring to land one solid hit on me. You will have three different attempts to do this but be warned I won't go easy on you."


	17. Chapter 17

The two took their places at either end of the circle. Mia didn't agree with talking before a fight so she stood there silently watching her opponent. Toshi-sensei's hand slashed down just in Mia's sight. She had her full attention on Iruka. He made the first move. He ran towards Mia, his fist flying out to hit her in the stomach. Mia dodged to the side making him hit air. Iruka pulled his arm back so that his elbow was angled to hit Mia's rib cage. She twisted her body right so her hands could stop the attack. The power behind it still pushed her back at least a metre. When she had regained her balance he was already there aiming a kick towards her head. Just before Iruka's leg would have made contact, Mia ducked underneath, aiming her own kick at his knee. It just scraped him as he jumped back. Mia stood back up ready to strike again when he had already appeared in front of her, arm pulled back. The punch landed. He had hit her in the stomach knocking all the air out. Instead of hitting her again he simply pushed her shoulder so she fell just outside the circle line.

Embarrassed she climbed to her feet. She was still panting for breath when she entered her fighting stance. Again Iruka rushed in but instead of trying to punch her like Mia had predicted his leg swung out and knocked Mia right off her feet. Iruka stood next to her as he kicked her out of the circle again. It wasn't too hard, just enough for her to cross the line. Yet it still took all the air she had managed to get back in her lungs. The panting could now be heard from the other side of the circle where Iruka now stood. Mia thought to herself that Iruka really hadn't lied when he said he wouldn't hold back. He didn't even help her get back up. He had managed to embarrass her twice. How was she meant to get strong if this man could toy with her so easily? He wasn't even that strong compared to most other ninjas. She had to win this round. She had to no matter what.

For the final time Mia climbed to her feet ready to fight. However, this time it was her time to rush in. Iruka hadn't expected her to move so quickly after being winded twice in less than a minute. The shock that it caused gave Mia enough time to get within arm's reach of Iruka. He stuck his arm out to catch her but she had faked going left. Now she stood on his unprotected right side with enough momentum in her leg to send a kick to his gut. He crumpled to the floor but right before he could actually touch the floor Mia's hand pulled back. Out of spite for all the embarrassment she felt, she punched him in the face with all her force. It wasn't as much as she would have liked due to her physical restraints. Being five didn't give her a lot of strength but it was enough to leave a throbbing red mark on Iruka's face. He landed on the floor. For only a matter of seconds did he actually stay there. As quick as possible he was back on his feet, laughing the whole ordeal off. He'd never admit to being beaten by a five year old, genius or not she had only won because he had been surprised by her quick recovery. Rubbing his wounded cheek he turned to address Mia.

"Congratulations on passing the first test. I'm very proud of you Mia. Many people struggle to achieve what you did at the age of twelve. Between the two of us that test is actually used on the graduating class to see if they can become a ninja." Mia was shocked to learn this but it wasn't the hardest thing to believe. The test was not easy and required a lot of skill just to stay in the circle.

"Either way it was fun to fight someone with skill." She bowed to show her new found respect for Iruka. Before she hadn't viewed him as much but now she knew that he could hold his own. Too shocked about the bow Iruka just gestured towards the targets. Both he and Mia walked towards them with Toshi-sensei following closely behind. Mia had completely forgotten about him during the fight. He had a small presence to begin with.

Near the line was a piece of wood holding at least thirty weapons. The line was there to tell students were to stand when throwing. So Mia placed her feet just behind it. She wasn't one of the children who stood just at the edge of the line. It was normal for someone to topple over it so the distance allowed her space to move without fear of falling. This time Toshi-sensei explained what it is she was expected to do. She only had to hit the target ten times with different weapons. She had the option of kunais or shurikens. The targets weren't that far away but compared to an actual opponent this would be better. She couldn't hit a moving target to save her life.

She decided to go with the kunai first as her aim was the weakest with them. She had fifteen tries this would be easy. Her aim with them might be worse, but she had brillant aim anyway. She picked up the first one taking up her stance. Her wrist flicked back and the kunai was sailing through the air. The thud sounded as it hit the centre bullseye. Smirking she moved onto the next target. She had a new one for each weapon. The second one hit against the bullseye just like the first. She repeated the pattern five more times making her current total of seven bullseyes. However when she was taking aim for the eight one a certain someone decided to appear. His loud appearance completely messed up her aim as the kunai went left of the target landing in the mud behind it. Mia chose to continue throwing, ignoring Naruto who wasn't to happy about being ignored. His whining made her once again mess up her aim. She had missed two throws now and her anger was bubbling up. On the ninth kunai she took aim at Naruto who noticed this. She was stopped by the subtle cough by Iruka who brought her attention back. Naruto didn't make another sound until she had landed the last three with perfect accuracy.

Once she had finished with the kunai Naruto prepared to finally speak to Mia.

"I could have do….." The death glare silenced him as it was coming from three directions. Taking advantage of the silence she completed her ten shurikens with no misses. All her tests were over now. She had managed to complete them all in just under five hours. Mia was impressed with herself for that. She had saved time for her to go play with Hitoshi and Isao. She was planning to introduce Naruto to them today as well.

So lost in thought she didn't notice Toshi-sensei talking to her. When she had focused on him, he had just finished his rant about how important these test were and he would report the results to her and the Hokage. She didn't think they were that important but she shrugged it off too excited about her break. It took Toshi a long time to realise she had stopped paying attention to him. So with a sigh he let her leave freely with the monster she had brought. Iruka wasn't too pleased with his presence either.

When they were finally free of the academy Naruto turned to talk to Mia.

"The academy looks so boring. I bet I could become an awesome ninja without it." Mia chuckled at that.

"You can only become a registered ninja through the academy. It's not that bad, you get to learn how to fight which you're awful at." Naruto pouted not liking being seen as bad.

"Well I'll just be so good that I graduate quickly. Bet that would made the sensei happy not having to see me." This wasn't what she wanted to hear him saying.

"Don't worry you'll find a teacher that loves you. Toshi-sensei is stupid anyway so nothing he says matters." The tone of finality in her voice stopped Naruto from arguing. Instead he changed the topic to something he loved, food.

"Mia you know since you always save your pocket money from the orphanage." Mia just nodded.

"Buy me an ice cream? It's so hot right now." She had saved every bit of money she had been given so she could easily afford an ice cream but she still said no.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

Mia sighed knowing she couldn't refuse anymore.

"Fine but it will be the cheapest one possible." Naruto was happy. He only got happier when Mia presented the small tub to him. He took the first bite and pretty much melted from how nice it was. A small smile formed on Mia's lips.

She was discreetly guiding them to the park so that they could meet up with her friends. That was were Kiko thought they were. Mia still wasn't allowed to walk to the academy alone but for some reason it was ok to go to the park. She'd never understand. When they arrived it was Isao who noticed them first so his loud voice was enough to alert the whole park of his location. Confusion covered everyone's face when they saw Naruto hidden behind her. Sasuke had copied and was hiding behind his brothers legs. She hadn't expected them to be there as well. She was killing two birds with one stone today. Turning to her group of friends she introduced Naruto to them.

"Naruto these are the friends I told you about." He stayed hidden but poked his head out slightly. Going in order of where they stood Mia said their names.

"This one is Isao, the one next to him is Hitoshi and finally the pair over there is Sasuke and Itachi." At hearing his name Sasuke popped out no longer hiding. He had started one of his rants talking about how great his brother was. Naruto didn't agree as he had never meet this boy. How could he think someone was better than Mia. It wasn't long until the two boys were arguing over who was better. It was funny to the group until Itachi and Mia noticed the stares they were bringing. Many of the families were muttering to each other. Some had even grabbed their children and left. Not liking this Mia took hold of Naruto and pulled him back.

"That's enough from you two it's time to go home now. Kiko will be worried if we stay gone for too long." Naruto protested but followed anyway. Mia waved to her friends and as they turned to leave Mia heard a faint "hmm" from Sasuke as his brother reprimanded him about manners. That had not gone to plan. It seems everyone was now angry at Naruto for something he didn't do. It was at this moment Mia decided to protect him from all the hatred even if it was only small things she could do. Like be his friend.


	18. Chapter 18

With nothing else to do during their two weeks off Mia decided to spend most of it with her group of friends. They would always get funny looks when walking down the street or in the park. Mia and Itachi were the only ones who truly knew why they got the funny looks. They had noticed them as soon as they started. However, it wasn't until towards the end of the first week that Hitoshi and Isao actually took notice of the people surrounding them. The only one in the group that never really caught onto the glares was Sasuke who was happily talking to his brother or arguing with Naruto. Itachi wasn't always with them as he had to run missions but Sasuke continued to hang around them. They all knew he secretly cared.

It was by the middle of the second week that Hitoshi and Isao learnt the cause of all the stares; Naruto. They weren't too happy with the constant stares so they chose to have words with Mia. It hadn't gone as they planned. They had originally thought she would abandon him to join them. Instead she completely stopped showing up at the park to play with them. At first they were confused, then hurt that a brat could steal their friend away. They had known her longer, he was just a new arrival. They couldn't just go around to her house since they didn't know where she lived. They were forced to wait until the academy started back up to get answers to their questions.

Finally, they started back at the academy. Mai was already there in the playground. She was sat reading a book under the tree where they usually ate lunch. Like normal she was so absorbed in the book that she didn't notice their arrival until they spoke. Well that was what they thought. Mia was ignoring them for what they had said to her. What right did they have to tell her who to hang around with? So when they finally spoke she took as long as she wanted before lifting her head. She was learning about the different elements that chakra could take on.

"Hey Mia we were wondering why you stopped coming to the park?" Hitoshi was the one to ask which was unusual as normally Isao was the confrontational one.

"You told me to stop bringing Naruto." She acted like the answer was obvious.

"Yeah but that didn't mean you had to stop coming." Isao said exasperated

"But he was the only reason I was allowed to go." She added with a sweet tilt of her head. Slowly her hair fell into her eyes as she spoke again.

"No one seems to want him near them." the emotion had drained from her voice. Slightly taken aback by the change in Mia, Isao shouted back.

"Well maybe you should take that as a hint and leave him as well. We're much better than him! Do you really want to throw away our friendship for someone you just met? We've known you for so much longer." A short dark laugh escaped Mia's lips. She slowly lifted her head so the hair parted and her eyes became visible. The dark grey colour made the angry in her eyes more intense; almost crazy looking.

"We orphans stick together. I know he'll always have my back. And just for the record I met Naruto before starting the academy. I'd even say it's because of him that I'm here." With that she stood up to head towards her classroom. She was curious about the tests and their meaning. Before she was just out of ear shot, Isao screamed.

"We can't be friends anymore!" Mia didn't care anymore. They had already lost her trust.

Most people were already in the classroom talking to one another. Without thinking Mia sat in her normal seat right next to Hitoshi. He didn't say anything when they made eye contact. All that happened was a silent exchange of Mia moving to allow Hitoshi in. Isao didn't want to stay quiet but one look from Hitoshi silenced any words. The lesson was set to start in five minutes when Toshi-sensei walked in. He had never arrived early. But he wasn't there to start the lesson. Instead he shouted for Mia to follow him into the corridor. It took her a few minutes to get to him as students crowded onto the stairs. With her small stature she was able to slip passed most but some went out their way to make the task difficult for her. Finally she made it to the door.

Outside Toshi-sensei stood there waiting. He was not a very patient person sometimes. Now was one of them as his foot started to tap on the floor. When Mia arrived the tapping stopped. His full attention was on her when she walked to stand in front of him. He noticed that for the first time ever Mia was nervous. She had never had to wait so long for a test result that she hadn't known the reason for why she was taking it. She was finally going to learn the real reason behind it all.

"Mia you did exceedingly well on the tests. The best I've ever seen. You were just short of full marks on them all." The nerves Mia had been showing before were slowly disappearing.

"You got ninety-eight and ninety-four out of a hundred for both the written tests. Your physical tests weren't as high but still quite amazing. Your worst grade was in the taijutsu as it took you all three rounds so you only scored ten marks out of thirty. If you had landed the hit during the second round your score would of been twenty. On the slight chance anyone lands a hit in the first round they would of scored a full thirty points. Your accuracy marks were the most impressive. Your marks for this test are determined from how many weapons you had remaining after hitting the target twenty times. Ten would have been the highest and zero would of been the lowest. You scored a total of eight. So out of a grand total of two hundred and forty you scored two hundred and ten. An average score for that exam is one hundred and fifty-five. Congratulations on your score." Mia had been trying to work out how they marked the exam. She should have figured that one out with how simple it was.

"Sensei, what were the tests for?"

"Ahh that would be to see if you were eligible to move up to a higher class. You had shown a lot of skill in my class. With the Hokage's permission I was allowed to conduct the test to evaluate you. As I said before you achieved higher than average so you will have the option to move to a more difficult class. If you want to that is. You would be leaving all your frie….." Mia interrupted before he could finish the word friends. She had none in that class anymore.

"Apologies for interrupting but I'd love to move." Toshi-sensei beamed at that. He may not agree with her being with the demon child but she did have a bright future. He would help in every way to make sure she reached that future.

"I'll walk you to your classroom once you have your belongings." At that Mia turned to open the door.

When she opened the door she was greeted by whispers. Isao was sat on her desk telling anyone who would listen lies about her.

"Yeah she only got in early because she has connections, she told me herself just this morning. She doesn't even have any skill. I've seen her copy off of Hitoshi on multiple occasions. She should just give up before she gets hurt by those with actual skill." He stopped when he saw the door shut. His eyes locked onto hers. But she said nothing. All eyes were on her for once as she approached Isao. But nothing happened when she got there. Instead of lashing out like any normal person she picked up her bag and began to descend the stairs again. It was when she reached the door that someone spoke up.

"Where are you going, class starts soon?" Without turning around Mia answered.

"Hopefully to a class with people who aren't pathetic enough to get scared of hanging around a little blonde boy. Maybe there I'll find someone with a brain as well and not a liar." With that the door slammed shut and Mia was once again stood with her now former sensei.

The walk through the academy was long. She would now be up on the second floor. That was four flights of stairs and three winding corridors just to get to the entrance of the classroom. Toshi-sensei opened the door for her but she was the first and only one to enter. The door had shut before she had the chance to turn around. Her eyes focused on the teacher, she didn't want to think about the room full of children just to the left of her. That didn't last long; her new sensei turned her to face everyone.

"Today we have a new student. I hope you remember her from a few months ago. She did manage to outsmart you all." He chuckled as if his joke was funny and not an insult to everyone.

"Her name is Mia and she'll be with us until graduation." There were a few hello's shouted from the back but that was it. Mia was pointed in the direction of the only available seat. She wasn't able to take a step before a sound of protest was made. When she looked up her eyes landed on the same boy she had disagreed with last time. It was definitely the same class. Her seat also happened to be the one right next to him. Just great. Not a single word was said between the two during the three years they sat next to each other. Mia had no need for new friends if they were just going to betray her again.


	19. Chapter 19

Today was graduation for Mia. She had been at the academy for three years. After she moved up a class she stayed there for the rest of the time. She had the chance to finish after just two years but Mia had no interest in being a ninja at just seven. That one year had helped her grow slightly. She was getting ready to sit her written test. It would be easy for her hopefully. She never stopped reading her books. Sometimes she went as far as to read one in lesson. So when they were allowed to answer the paper that had been sat in front of her for ten minutes, Mia flew through it. It only took her fifteen minutes out of the hour they had been given. The last forty-five was spent just daydreaming about better things. Eventually the bell rang from the sensei's desk. Time was up.

All thirty-two of the students filed out in one quiet line. It was time for the taijutsu portion. This had always been Mia's weakest. She was in no way bad, it just was the one she had to put the most effort into. The test was identical to the one she had with Iruka. There was only one difference. Instead of three rounds they were only given ten minutes to land a hit. Mia sat and watched as many children tried and failed to land a solid hit. They were facing Iruka again. His skills had improved over the years making the exam harder. Then it was Mia's turn. Only six of the eleven who went before her landed a hit.

In the the circle Mia stood ready. She was forming a plan. It was a very dirty plan but she didn't have the time to fight properly. Now the fight began. They both darted forward. Iruka wouldn't make the same mistake as last time. Iruka raised his fists to hit her before Mia slid down across the floor, kicking up dust. She was quick back to her feet. When Iruka turned around he was greeted by a fist full of dust. Blinded for a few seconds Mia landed a quick solid hit to his shoulder. It was enough to pass but not to knock him over. She was sent flying out the ring soon after landing her hit. Coughing she stood back up. The fight had only lasted twenty seconds. She bowed from her new position outside the ring and turned to enter the classroom again.

Everyone else who had finished their fight was sat in the room. The nerves were as clear as day on their faces. Mia felt the same feelings deep in her stomach, she just masked her emotions well. The wait was what killed everyone. It took over five hours for all the fights to be completed. When everyone who had passed were in the room the third and final part started, Ninjutsu. Mia had mastered the three basic academy ones as well as tree and water walking thanks to Kiko. Mia breezed through that section. Receiving the headband was a proud moment for Mia. But before she could leave to go home she was told one last message.

"You are to come back in one week for a meeting." After that she was shuffled out the room like she was nothing. They hadn't even congratulated her. They were fed up already of their jobs.

Now free of the academy for good, Mia ran home. She had forgotten to tell anyone at the orphanage so the shock on people's face would amuse Mia. The one she looked forward to showing her new headband to, was Naruto. He would be so jealous. She pushed the door open, her headband displayed proudly on her forehead. All activity stopped as she was stared at, mouths agape. Mia was now an eight year old ninja. By law she was also a legal adult. Kiko was stood praising her for the achievement whilst many children stared in awe. Most of the children who started the academy moved into their own flat before graduation. Unlike Mia those children were over the age of ten.

Naruto had the best reaction just as she predicted. He had run right at her, face red from either anger or determination.

"I start the academy in a year. I'll get stronger so that I can beat you! They'll be begging me to take the headband." He had his chest puffed out and thumb jabbed right on top of his heart. Mia smirked at his remark.

"Hmmm as if baka. You can't even land a hit on me during our spars."

"Just you watch!" With that he had stomped off to his bedroom. He was given his own one after the whole demon rumour, no one was willing to share with him. The only thing keeping him in the orphanage was his ties to the Hokage. The old man visited randomly during the year to check on him.

Over the next week Mia filled out all her official papers needed to become a ninja legally. She needed her ID card to be able to run missions. They never used names in paperwork due to confidentiality. Her card ID was quite funny to her as it was 9448788666. The ending was her favourite. By the time everything went through it was time for her to go back one last time. She wasn't a hundred percent sure as to why but it had to be important.

When Mia walked into the classroom it was filled with more people than she expected, including those she believed failed. Some of the strangers were surprised to see her walk in. However, only one actually addressed her.

"Hey shrimp! What are you doing in here? This room is for ninja's only so get out." She glanced up at the bulky child that now blocked her path. She just raised her finger to point towards her headband which his eyes finally landed on.

"Tch you probably just stole it."

"If I managed to steal it then I would be doing a favour to the owner by saving his life." With that she jumped the table and headed towards the back to take her seat. She chose to sit next to a timid looking boy who had his nose stuck in a book. When Mia sat down his eyes darted towards her. In a shaky voice he actually spoke to her. Not something Mia expected.

"You shouldn't have done that. He was the top student in my class. He's undefeated in all his spars." Still surprised that the boy spoke to her, Mia just shrugged. Not like she would be spending time with him once she left.

Some time had passed when some woman walked into the room. She held an air of authority which silenced the room immediately. After shuffling her papers and coughing a few times into her hand she spoke.

"Congratulations on making it this far on your own. However, from now on you will be working in teams. These teams will become your family so make sure to get along." She began to flick through her paper whilst all the students took the time to absorb what they just learnt. Finally she sorted the papers out.

"Now the teams! Team 1 Rio ….." Mia decided not to listen. She wasn't too interested in other people's teams. Not long later the boy she had ran into shouted.

"Why am I with that wimp?" The woman just continued without missing a beat.

"The last member of team fourteen is Mia. That is all the teams, thank you for your patience. You jonin sensei's will arrive soon." With that she turned and left.

Mia only knew one of her team members from the outburst. It was the same annoying boy from before. That was until he came storming up to the boy next to her. Glaring he started demanding he answer ridiculous questions like how dare you pass? Or you'll end up dying on the first mission right? The questions continued until some oh so kind soul pointed out that he didn't recognise the loudmouth's third team mate. He turned agreeing before his mouth opened again. Mia didn't think he ever closed it.

"Alright then which one of you nobodies is May? Huh come on someone answer!" Scowling Mia responded.

"It's Mia not May. Are you really stupid enough not to remember your team mates names?" He turned on her. Complete and utter hate in his eyes. If she hadn't have been friends with Naruto the look would have shocked her. Now it was second nature.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A CHILD WHO NEEDS TO LEARN HER PLACE BENEATH ME!" Being the calm calculating person she was she didn't try to rile him up even further. Not verbally anyway. She clicked her tongue and flicked her long hair over her shoulder. Her annoyance was rising and quickly just being near him. Their time as a team was sure to be hell. The door opened before anything else could happen. They had gotten the whole classrooms attention without even trying.

Through the door walked a group of seven adults all dressed in a range of clothes. Some had formal wear, others had standard shinobi gear and others were wearing their own battle clothes. They each took it in turn to call forth a team of three genin. The last one in the formal clothing called out for team fourteen, Mia's team. His face was completely unreadable especially his milky white eyes. Yet a small downwards twinge of his lip gave his disappointment away. He was not happy with the team and who could blame him? They didn't look like much of a team. A large boy who never stopped yelling, a small timid boy who could have been snapped in half by a leaf and finally Mia, a girl who was obviously younger than the other two and didn't belong in that classroom.

He made a sharp turn on his heels and walked out leaving behind the team of misfits. It took them longer than expected to catch up. The man was already out of the academy when they were finally in hearing range. Obviously the loud boy complained about him walking too quick for them to keep up. He was the only one falling behind not them. The man didn't stop, his steps didn't even falter. He just continued to lead them until they had reached a training ground on the opposite side of the city. It was close to a few clan compounds if Mia remembered correctly. Now the man stopped to look at them. The boys were both red in the face from keeping up. Mia had been lucky with her amazing stamina otherwise she would have been worse than the boys. Her face always got bright red and blotchy during exercise.

The man was very straight to the point. They figured that out quick enough. He only gave them the basic information they needed and that was that.

"You will call me Hyuga-sensei. From this point until you become chunin I will be training you. If you slack off you will be punished. Now tell me your names." He pointed in turn at everyone starting with the loudmouth and ending with the terrified boy.

"Takeo Yamashita"

"Mia"

"Fumio Abe"

The man nodded. He seemed happy with only knowing that much about them. Although, the boys were giving Mia funny looks for not mentioning a second name. She just winked at them both while making a shushing motion. She even raised her finger to her lips to add emphasis. The attention soon turned back to their new sensei when he started to talk again. He didn't wait to see if he even had their attention.

"Meet me here tomorrow at nine am sharp. Tardiness will lead to punishment as well. I will be testing you to see if you are worthy of being my students." With that he vanished. The trio were stood there confused. One by one they turned and left. Only Mia stayed. She wanted to get some training done now she had access to the training grounds.

Unknown to the others, their sensei had watched their reactions from the tree lines. Only the small girl had impressed him. She was the first ever to take advantage of the opportunity he gave them. He watched her train until the sun had almost completely set. Only then did the girl turn to head home. Covered head to toe in sweat, mud and twigs.


	20. Chapter 20

By eight-fifty they had all arrived back at the training ground. Yesterday had been a shock to them all. None had expected to be on a team with each other or have such a strict teacher. Everything seemed to end in punishment. Takeo was the last to arrive which didn't surprise Mia in the slightest. Being the loudmouth he was, he announced his presence by shouting at them all.

"Don't worry guys I'll make sure the academy has space to let you back in when sensei realises I'm better than you both." Mia rolled her eyes at him. Not even a hello or good morning.

"Hmmmm." was her response. Fumio didn't take it as well. His shaking became even worse with each word Takeo spoke. It wasn't long until he noticed.

"Awww shaking already. Guess you know I'm speaking the truth then." His whole body moved from the laugh that left him. If it was any louder the ground would have started to shake.

When the clock hit nine he arrived. Their sensei had just appeared in the middle of them. His eyes scanned over each and every one of them. Just like Takeo he didn't greet them.

"Today you will be doing you genin test." At this Fumio's eyes bulged, Takeo started to protest and Mia paid more attention than normal. Just the reaction he had expected based off what he saw at the academy. All he had to do was raise his hand for Takeo to stop his complaining.

"This test will be to determine whether I deem you worthy of being my students. If you pass then I will teach you. However, should you fail the academy might just consider taking you back." It was silent for a few moments.

"Ha bet this test will be easy for someone of my skill." Takeo stated whilst oozing the confidence of a chunin. It also grew stronger as their sensei described their task.

"I'll be testing you through a game of hide and seek. You will have three hours to find me in the forest surrounding us. Once you have located me I will give those present a sticker. If you don't have a sticker at the end of the three hours you'll be considered a failure. Do you understand?" A nod from them all was all he needed before vanishing again. Mia really needed to learn how he did that.

Takeo took off in a random direction after leaving a parting message.

"I'll be the only one to pass this stupid exam." A quick laugh and he was gone in the bushes. Mia thought about what would be her best option to win when she noticed Fumio still stood next to her. Then an idea hit her.

"Hey Fumio. You don't mind me calling you that right?" He shook his head before letting her continue. "I think it would be a good idea for us to team up." Confused as to why anyone would want to work with him he asked her.

"Why would you want to work for someone like me?" She took on the thinking pose before a bright smile spread across her face.

"That book you were reading yesterday was on advanced strategies. No academy student would be allowed to read yet there you were. So my guess is you're a lot stronger than you let on." He blushed at her response. Someone thought he was strong. Mia had to guess that she said the right thing based on his reaction. The weak nod confirmed their new partnership. With all that sorted they began to plan. Mia never regretted asking him for help once she heard his ideas.

Two and a half hours had passed and it was time for the plan to start. Apparently Fumio had some sensory skills which Mia hadn't even thought it could be possible. So there they were stood in the middle of a clearing with him sat crossed legged in the middle in concentration. He must have been deep in thought as he didn't even notice when Takeo came rushing at them. Mia was shocked when his fist went flying towards her face. She managed to dodge but her shock delayed her reaction time. He didn't stop there; pulling his fist back he aimed another one at her gut. This time Mia was ready. She caught his fist but it took all her strength. She lost her grip when he pulled it back, almost face planting the floor. She had found her balance just as his foot connected to her head. Mia was sent flying across the opening, only stopping when she had rolled. Takeo had power but no speed. Mia had both but her strength was nothing compared to his.

By the time he had gotten to her Mia had all her senses back and was beyond angry. She didn't know why she was being attacked but she wouldn't just roll over and die. Not letting him attack first she ran. When his fist shot out she ducked under it grabbing his wrist on the way. She twisted her body and pulled on his wrist sending him over her shoulder. The dust filled the air from the crash he caused. Mia lifted her foot ready to stomp on his head but his forearm stopped her. Pushing up, he rolled to the side until on his knees coughing blood.

"Heh not bad shrimp." Mia stopped her charging at that. They both just sat there watching each other.

"So you gonna tell me why you attacked?" Shrugging he said,

"Just wanted to see how strong you are. I already know about Fumio since we were in the same class. That reminds me what is he doing?" Mia glared at that answer.

"None of your business." she snapped. "If you want to test my strength then you can wait until we pass for a spar." Nodding, there was silence once again.

When Fumio came back to the land of the awake he was surprised by what he saw. Both Mia and Takeo were sat on the floor covered in dust. Mia was glaring hard until she noticed him. The look melted from her eyes making it impossible to see what she was feeling. Climbing to her feet she approached him. That was when Takeo looked in his direction. He didn't move or speak which wasn't like him at all.

"So have you found him?" Mia spoke from his right. He hadn't even realised she was so close. Turning back to her, he answered.

"Urm yeah he's around one mile north west of us in a tree." This caught Takeo's attention. He perked up like a dog would. He jumped to his feet and turned to run that direction. Until Mia stopped him.

"You better not go running without us." Her hand was held out in front of him but her eyes never left Takeo's.

"Why wouldn't I? There's nothing stopping me." Mia looked ready to argue but the feeling of Fumio pulling himself up stopped her. Without thinking she grabbed his hand and dragged them both off north west. Takeo not far behind them.

They ran for at least ten minutes until Fumio suddenly tugged Mia in a new direction. Takeo was too far behind them to keep up and he had soon lost them both. Mia was confused as she was now the one being dragged. Fumio's grip on her hand was stronger than she imagined. He was both smart and strong. She was learning a lot about him during this test - about her new team mates. Takeo only cared about himself and used violence to deem his worth. Fumio was sensory ninja which a range of sixteen miles, a natural at thinking up strategies even if their original one was no longer being followed. But the biggest shock was his physical aspects. He was strong, probably just shy of Takeo's strength and fast. He had overtaken Mia on a few occasions whilst running but slowed down as soon as he realised what had happened.

They had run into the same clearing they had started in. Stood in the centre was Hyuga-sensei, in his palm was an alarm clock. Just as Takeo came sprinting into the clearing did it start ringing. It was a loud noise which they would have been able to hear in the forest if they were still in there. He let it ring for thirty seconds before switching it off. Only then did he address them.

"Congratulations on finding me before the end of your time limit. From now on we are team fourteen." A look of relief passed over everyone's face. The silence had scared them all into thinking they had failed. The look stayed on their faces as their new sensei went through all his new rules.

"You are to never be late. You can never argue against my orders. You will show me the utmost respect. You will …." Mia thought it would be best to tune him out so to not fall asleep.

After he finished, Takeo had walked straight up to Mia.

"You said you would spar me once we passed." This caught their witnesses attention. Mia was ready to deny him when Hyuga-sensei spoke up.

"That seems like a good idea. I'll observe to learn your current skills tomorrow. For today I order you to go home." Takeo was ready to object when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. His eyes darted to Mia who was innocently whistling whilst looking at the trees. It was then that Fumio whispered to him.

"Don't forget the rules never argue him about orders." When he finished he sheepishly looked away as well. Takeo had been saved from punishment by his team mates. Their sensei just watched the exchange waiting for them to leave.

They had all left except Mia who again stayed to train. However, unlike the day before she left after only a few hours. She was going to ask Kiko to help train her. As well as find out how people kept disappearing into thin air. So when she got home she made a beeline straight for her target. She was in the middle of training the others when Mia walked out. Instead of interrupting like she would of done as a child, she waited until she was free.

"Kiko-san." This caught the young woman's attention as she turned to look at her. One eye still on the children training.

"Do you think you could train me some more tonight?" She pulled her best puppy dog eyes. Kiko caved instantly.

"Once these guys have finished I will." The happiness from Mia was nearly contagious.

The training session finished soon for the academy students. So Mia had Kiko's full attention now.

"So what is it you want training with?" Immediately Mia had a list spilling out.

"Chakra control, strength, speed and how do people disappear into thin air?" Kiko was used to the first few but the last one was new.

"I think you're talking about the body flicker technique." Mia was curious about this as she hadn't heard of it.

"Can you teach it me please?" Kiko laughed at her enthusiasm but agreed.

"It's a jutsu which allows the user to travel at high speeds. It can be dangerous to use if you don't know where you are running to so you must be careful with it." Mia nodded eager to learn more.

"It only has one hand sign; tiger. Here watch me and I'll demonstrate." Before Mia could nod Kiko was on the other side of the garden hands still in the tiger sign. This would be a useful jutsu to know. When Kiko was back she set Mia off to learn.

For hours Mia had been training but she couldn't move more than a metre in any direction. It was harder than she thought. Soon she would stop as her chakra was nearly half way depleted but until then she continued. Kiko had offered to show her a different technique but Mia refused until she had learnt this one. The strength both the boys had was far above hers. Speed was something she would need to avoid being hit.

When Kiko came out to collect Mia, the girl was covered in dirt and sweat but she had a smile on her face. When she noticed Kiko the smile spread.

"Do you want to see how far I can go?" Kiko nodded with a small smile. Next thing she knew Mia was stood next to the gate at the opposite end of the house. She had travelled further than Kiko had in her demonstration. When Mia used it to get back, she collapsed right into Kiko's arms. The smile was still there but now she was fast asleep in her arms. Kiko carried the girl back to her bed before leaving. She had always pushed herself to the limits but she was capable to do a jutsu after only a few hours. The only problem Kiko had noticed was the amount of chakra she released. She knew two jutsu which would help stop that but that could wait until tomorrow after she got back from her training session.


	21. Chapter 21

Mia woke up the next morning in bed. She couldn't even remember getting there yet there she was wrapped up in a soft warm cocoon of blanket. The last thing she could recall was showing Kiko her progress. Maybe, she thought, that was who had brought her up. She was the only one strong enough to carry her. Her thoughts never strayed as Mia climbed out of bed to get dressed. She still wore the same outfit as when she started the academy all those years ago. Plain and boring just how she liked it. Fully dressed and now awake Mia adventured down stairs.

She walked into the room full with all the children screaming. Breakfast was not her favourite time of the day. But she still went every morning to please Kiko. She was the only person who cared for her no matter what. Not following her normal routine of sitting with Naruto, she walked towards the kitchen window to locate Kiko. Mia needed to thank her. If she hadn't of brought her in she probably would have slept on the floor outside. Now that was not something she enjoyed. It wasn't long until she came to the window. Without hesitation, Mia bowed to the waist. No words were exchanged instead she just turned to join her only friend.

Breakfast had taken longer than expected as she had to run straight to the training ground. Just as she stepped foot next to her team the clocks hit nine. Her speed training was paying off. When she was in the academy the run would of taken a good ten minutes longer. However, she was stopped from thinking when her sensei appeared. He was already talking when he showed up. Always the eager one. He was talking about the fight he had guaranteed yesterday.

"You'll have fifteen minutes to have a three way fight. The winner will be the last one standing." His announcement was enough to scare Fumio but excite Takeo. Mia, like normal, was indifferent to the whole ordeal. Well that's what she wanted people to think. She was slightly scared to fight against both boys. They were both older and a lot stronger. Graduating early didn't make Mia invincible to other. She just reached a similar level as the other two. Secretly she wished she had been rookie of the year but a few students managed to beat Mia.

Hyuga-sensei had already jumped back to avoid dirtying his white garment. His hand dropping down as he did so. The fight had begun. Without hesitation Takeo rushed towards Fumio leaving Mia to stand behind him. His fists were flying out repeatedly at his head. To some miracle Fumio managed to dodge every single blow. His head moving side to side, occasionally ducking under. With no plan of relenting Mia charged, flying through the air. Her foot hitting the side of his head sending him air born. She landed gracefully onto the grass; her eyes on both boys. However, a grunt pulled her full attention to Takeo. Fumio took his chance. His leg connected to the back of Mia's knee until she was flat on the floor. A silent cry crossed Mia's face from shock.

"I'm sorry Mia!" He chanted over and over again. The loud noise woke Takeo who was now running to punch Mia. His whole being pumped by anger. His arm outstretched only inches away from her face before it bent. Fumio had kicked his elbow, bending his arm. His chanting increased as his foot came up to hit the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. Now it was just Mia and Fumio.

The two stood there watching each other. Both were slightly panting but Mia was leaning towards the left from the last hit. She charged. Fumio was still, almost hesitant to move. That falter allowed Mia to land a hit to his shoulder. Knocking him back a few steps. That was enough to snapped him back. With only seconds to move, he ducked under the right hook Mia had aimed at his head. The punch had left her completely open from his position. He took it. With all his strength he punched up catching her chin. Mia flew through the air until landing in a pile a couple metres away. Fumio had knocked them both out whilst chanting sorry the whole time.

Mia wasn't out for long. She came to when their sensei declared Fumio as the winner. It was surprising that he was so strong but Mia knew he was hiding something yesterday. He purposely held himself back. She climbed to her feet intending to congratulate him as well when her sensei's eyes darted straight to her. She froze mid step. Anticipation surrounded her.

"Hurry up we need to start training!" He snapped. Still frozen, it took Mia a few seconds to understand what happened. But when her sensei's eyes moved to look at her again, she was up and moving towards them.

"Now that someone decided to join us, you'll be going through some kata until Takeo wakes up. When he's up we'll move on to ninjutsu." He received a nod from the two present genin. Yet they didn't move to begin their kata until he raised his eyebrow.

For two hours Mia and Fumio practised their kata. Mia's fluency growing even better, her speed only slightly increasing. She was covered in sweat and panting heavily. Compared to Fumio she was in much better shape as he looked ready to collapse. He was strong and fast but lacked any form of stamina. They were both finishing a set when Takeo alerted them. They knew it was him due to the screams of outrage.

"I demand a re-match! There is no way that those weaklings beat me! It was just a fluke!" He marched over. No one was pleased with his behaviour but only their sensei voiced it.

"No you are to train with your teammates. You should be glad that they are strong, no one wants weak people watching their back." Takeo was silent at that. He made a point that stuck with him. With that said Takeo went to join his teammates in trained. However, he didn't have to do any sets like his teammates as they moved straight ninjutsu. They had expected to of been taught the basics of at least one. That was not the case as they were forced to demonstrate every single one that they knew. Fumio only knew the academy three. Whilst Mia knew one more she only showed the basics. She wouldn't use the body flicker until she had fully mastered it. Takeo on the other hand just had to show off. He did all three of the basics and a D-ranked earth jutsu. The look of pleasure on his face disgusted Mia.

"Just because you can do an element jutsu doesn't mean you're better than us."

"Oh I think it does shrimp." He remarked back.

"At least I wasn't the first knocked out in the spar." Mia stuck her tongue out and turned her back.

They were stopped by the clapping of hands. It was in no way a congratulating kind more of a demanding one. All attention turned to the noise. Hyuga-sensei was stood a few feet away from his students clapping his hands in slow constant beat.

"Now that I have your attention it's time for us to collect a mission scroll." Even in their half dead state all three of them perked up at the chance of running missions. Each one had different thoughts on what they could be doing. Fumio thought of passing off lifesaving messages, Takeo thought of all the ninja he would get to fight, Mia thought of travelling the world. They never stopped dreaming about their mission until they actually received it.

"Team fourteen will be babysitting Matsuoka-san one year old. She needs to get to work in two hours so be there in an hour to get all needed information. NEXT!" That was it. No secret to share, no fighting of evil bandits or even leaving the village. Baby-sitting was not a ninja's job. Their sensei didn't look happy with it but shuffled them all out of the briefing room.

Once outside they were told the full details from the scroll their sensei held.

"We are to look after a sixteen month old baby for five hours whilst Matsuoka-san attends to some business. They are located on the east side of the village around a thirty minute walk from here. I suggest that you all start running if you want to make it in time." With that he was gone. With no other option all three began to run east. They hadn't been given the proper address so they needed to get there as fast as possible to find their teacher. The run would have been simple if it weren't through a marketplace. Mia thought that was why he told them to start running. People blocked the path making dodging the only safe way through. In a strange sense it was a form of training, more than just stamina.

The run took them longer then the thirty minutes they had been told. A full hour had been wasted trying to locate the house, which Takeo found. It added to his ego until a woman opened the door. She was dressed in a formal blue kimono. The flowers that covered the bottom half snaked up under the obi. When she moved it was like they were dancing amongst themselves. The top was plain blue save for the odd few flowers on the long sleeves. Mia just couldn't take her eyes off it. Apparently neither could the boys as the woman started to tap her foot.

"Well are you coming in or what? Unless you aren't Hyuga-san students, then apologies for my rudeness." She did a slight bow at the end. It wasn't too deep as they were only young children and she was a fully grown adult. The surprised and shocked look was probably what made her think they weren't the ninja she hired. Unfortunately, it was Takeo who answered as well.

"Lady do we look rich to you? Of course we're here for you there's no other reason to be here. Our lousy sensei never told us where to find you jeez." At some point during his speech his pinky finger had found a place in his left ear. No one appreciated seeing it especially the woman who made a disgusted face.

"Hmmmm you can never be too careful these days. If you're here for me you might as well come in." She stepped back and allowed them to walk in. Hesitant at first Mia pushed Takeo through the door. He turned back to snap at him but Mia just kept pushing him forward until they were in the living room.

In the living room was a sight none ever thought they would see. A Hyuga sat with a baby on their knee speaking in a ridiculously high voice. He stopped as soon as he saw the trio stood there holding back their laughter. It was enough for them to forget about the long hunt they had just done. With no way to save his dignity, he moved on to explaining.

"This is Jun-kun. He is the baby you will be babysitting." At that point the woman came into the room. A small chuckle left her mouth at seeing her child's new seat.

"Before I leave I should tell you a few things. His food is in the top cupboard closest to the door with the bottle, his toys are in his room where they need to stay and there is some food for you guys to eat as well. If there is anything else refer to the scroll on the side it has all the minor details." She waved goodbye before leaving the house completely. Mia wandered into the kitchen to find the said objects ignoring her sensei who started talking again once she had left. She just couldn't take him seriously with a baby on his knee. She'd deal with the punishment in the morning.

With food prepared she attempted to find the scroll. However, it was placed on a shelf just above her height. Sighing in annoyance she travelled back to the living room. The house was much bigger inside than it looked outside. So in the five minutes it took her to get there all she heard were giggles. As she rounded the corner she saw both her teammates playing with the baby toys together whilst the baby watched from the side. That was not what she expected to see two twelve year olds do. Shrugging she sat next to the baby watching as neither boys had noticed her enter. After not too long Jun started to get bored with not having anything to do. It was then the boys saw Mia as she snatched the rattle from their hands to give to the baby. They blushed at being caught but did nothing more. In those few minutes they had gotten along just fine.

With only ten minutes left before Matsuoka-san was meant to arrive did they actually head to Jun's room to play. They had broken her rule by bring them all down but if they didn't tell how would she know? They could tell a small white lie, it's not like it's hard. So when she came in through the bedroom door she found three young ninja playing a game, she smiled. Then the kid started to do his childish babble only a mother would understand. Jun crawled from the group on the floor towards his mother whilst pointing downstairs. A perfect eyebrow as she continued to listen.

"So you took the toys downstairs huh." A three had the decency to look guilty, Mia less so as she hadn't brought any down per say.

"He had more room to play down there so it seemed like a good idea." Fumio said whilst hiding behind Takeo. He didn't seem to like being used as a human shield again but couldn't really say anything.

"I'll let you off this time but if you babysit for me again please stick to the rules I give you." With that she bent down to pick her baby up. Happy they weren't getting in trouble they left the house to report back to the mission station.

Their sensei had been doing something else as he had disappeared as soon as their client left. He only reappeared when they had just arrived at the Hokage tower to report. He nodded before leading the way inside. A small line was forming outside the door to the briefing room so they were forced to wait. It dwindled quickly as they were giving a briefing within minutes. Well Hyuga-sensei was. They had no idea how he knew what happened but he knew every small detail.

"Your D-rank mission will be documented as completed. You can collect your pay at the next station however, if we receive a complaint within a week of the mission completion you will be forced to come back and return a portion of your pay to compensate. The amount will vary depending on how serious the complaint is. You are free to go now team fourteen." The man made a waving motion to move them on. At the next station there were five people all talking to different ranked ninja. Fortunately one man became available as soon as they stood in line. Upon approaching you could already tell the man was ready to give up. Their sensei spoke as they had no idea what to do.

"Team fourteen returning from the D-rank mission of babysitting Matsuoka-san's child." The man hmmmed whilst he looked over some papers. He dropped his stack and began writing on a slip of paper. He shoved three different envelopes into their sensei's hand who was less than pleased about the treatment.

Once outside he handed each genin their own envelope. Takeo ripped it open out of curiosity. Inside was a sheet of paper with only a few words written on it.

"Payment for the D-rank mission of babysitting Matsuoka-san's baby totals one thousand six hundred and sixty-six ryo. Please take this slip to the bank to collect the owed amount." He blinked at the paper in front of him before laughing.

"If a stupid job like that pays this good then you don't hear me complaining." At that both Fumio and Mia looked at the sheet. Almost simultaneously they opened their own to find the exact same thing written. Then it dawned on them. If Matsuoka-san complained about them they could lose all the money. That stopped all the joy. It wasn't hard to tell, so in a pathetic attempt to cheer them up their sensei spoke up.

"They never take more than half from D-rank missions." That caused them all to deflate more. Losing half would have a big impact on them. With nothing else to do they all split to go their separate ways.

When Mia got home Kiko was there waiting. Confusion was clearly written on Mia's face as she got closer.

"Is everything ok Kiko-san?" She eyed around carefully as she spoke. Kiko just laughed.

"No nothing is wrong. I was just waiting for you." Mia eyes squinted at her in suspicion.

"We're going to be training today. Oh and just to let you know I won't be feeding you until you get the trick down." She chirped in a cheery voice. With a groan Mia followed, this wasn't new. Kiko had always been a strict teacher yet it was mostly only to Mia. They walked to the back garden towards the group of trees at the back. Kiko stopped just at the base of the tree whilst looking up to the very top.

"Mia can you climb to the top of this tree?" Confused but still wanting to get it done she attempted to climb the tree. She had just placed her hand on the tree when Kiko spoke a again.

"Without your hands." This completely set Mia off.

"No Kiko-san I can't. That shouldn't even be physically possible. It goes against all the rules set about gravity. Even if I did manage to get up my body would weigh me down since it's near impossible to hold your whole body mass by your feet." She was panting near the end of the rant. The one thing she didn't expect to hear was a laugh. Laughing the whole way Kiko put her foot on the tree and then the other one. Very slowly she began to climb the tree using just her feet. Mia could do nothing but stare in amazement.

"Chakra makes the impossible possible Mia never forget that. You can do virtually anything with it. Now I want you to the exact same thing." With that she dropped to the floor allowing Mia full access to the tree. Slightly worried she placed one foot on the bark only for it to break through. Shocked she looked for an explanation.

"You used too much chakra. The pressure caused the bark to explode." Thinking Mia turned.

"And if I use too little chakra?"

"Well you won't stick at all. You fall right off." She clapped at the end, she seemed happy about the advice she had given. Figuring that was all she would get, Mia turned back around to the tree to attempt again. The wood sprayed back hitting her in the face; still too much pressure. Her next attempt ended with her face planting the tree due to her foot slipping off unexpectedly. At least now Mia had a rough estimate on how much chakra to use. Yet after multiple attempts you could only get half way up the tree before she started to pant from exhaustion.

"Welp looks like it's getting late and we still need to eat. We can continue in the morning before you disappear. You do technically understand the concept." clearly not happy Mia followed Kiko back into the house to eat.

It took Mia a full week to learn how to climb the tree to a high enough standard to please Kiko. She was rewarded with a pat on the back and a small hard sweet. Then they were off onto the next task; walking on water. It took longer than the tree walking and many unplanned trips to the bottom of the lake. She was doing taijutsu training with her team and ninjutsu with Kiko. However, she wouldn't be able to learn her affinity due to the orphanage not being able to afford the paper. The special paper would cost almost three of her pay checks which didn't seem worth it. She was stuck learning universal jutsu. Mia would of asked her sensei for it but it would mean sharing her personal training which she had neglected to tell him. He had said that he was to be kept updated on all progress made but Mia didn't see the point. Every good ninja has a few secret techniques. She was just trying to expand on that early.


	22. Chapter 22

For weeks they did D-ranked missions. They were the same few chores repeated over and over again. The only one team fourteen was lucky enough to have once was the capture of tora the cat. It had taken them hours to find him even with the help of their sensei. The only reason they never got it again was because Takeo threatened to kill it. The Fire Daimyō had turned red in the face screaming. She had demanded that we never be allowed near her baby. Something team fourteen were happy to comply with.

However, when they entered the missions room they weren't given their usual D-rank mission. Hyuuga-sensei had requested a C-rank apparently. She was glad, the chores were completely boring and pointless. It had helped improve their teamwork but that was it. Teamwork development was only good if they planned to stay a team forever, which Mia definitely did not want. Now she had the chance to actually do something worthwhile. Test her skills in real life combat, gain knowledge from outside the village. The possibilities are endless.

All whilst thinking this Mia had accidently missed part of the mission briefing. With a shake of her head she began to listen.

"The east entrance will take you in the opposite direction so please remember to take the west entrance when heading to Tōkai. It will be a day's run for you so when there take a day to recover for the run back." With that he held the scroll out for someone to take. Mia reached her hand out to take it but her sensei was faster. She had planned to read it as she had missed the most important pieces of information. Why were they going to Tōkai?

The door shut with a loud bang as they walked down the hallway. It was oddly empty compared to how it normally was.

"Mia" her sensei said. Her eyes drifted up to him. "Next time listen during a mission brief. As punishment you are to do two laps. I'll let you read the scroll in the morning." They were about to leave the building now.

"Laps of what sensei?" She asked. He turned standing just at the entrance with a scowl on his face.

"The village." he turned and started to leave but stopped when no of the genin followed him out. "NOW!" he snapped. Picking her jaw off the floor Mia began her long run around the village. The two boys wished her luck as she passed.

The run turned out to be a lot more interesting when she ran into someone. She had only just started her run around the village border as it took her a good thirty minutes just to reach the wall. As she was running her thoughts took over so she hadn't noticed until the last seconds. Her face was planted firmly into the back of a strange man. Her small body wasn't even enough to knock him over but it caught his attention.

"HELLO! WHAT IS SUCH A YOUTHFUL PERSON AS YOURSELF DOING HERE!" He bellowed right into her face. She needed a second to let her ears adjusted from the ringing. The man seemed to wait for only a second before he pulled the most bizarre position. His thumb was pointed directly at her with one leg stretched out, crouching close to her height. Blinking, Mia turned away from the weird sight.

"Erm my sensei ordered me to run two laps of the village. Ah that reminds me! I'm sorry for running into you it wasn't my intention. I was just lost in thought that I let go of my surroundings." She quickly bowed. This man didn't seem normal in any way so her best plan was to show as much respect as possible.

"YOSH YOU MUST HAVE A VERY STRONG WILL OF FIRE TO BE TRAINING AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE!" Mia only let out a breathy laugh for the strange man.

"Actually I'm a registered ninja stranger-san." The smile on his face seemed to grow bigger if it was possible. "SUCH YOUTH!" he shouted as tears streamed down his face "I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK" Mia just nodded her thanks.

"Well I better finish my laps before it's too late." With that she took off at a slow pace glancing back every so often. The faint sound of his voice still chasing her no matter how far she ran.

The run took longer than expected as she trudged home at ten o'clock. Kiko would be mad at her for being out so late but she had a feeling her sensei would know if skipped her punishment. He always seemed to know what the team did even when he wasn't there. The door clicked open before Mia could even reach for it. The sight that greeted her was a very angry Ruri. Her arms were crossed and a scowl was etched onto her face. Ruri and Mia stopped getting along a long time ago. She had 'accidentally' locked Naruto outside in the freezing cold for a whole night. Her punishment was merely a slap on the wrist. From that day Mia and Naruto had taken it upon themselves to punish her properly. She was starting to regret all the pranks she helped pull from the cold look in Ruri eyes.

"And where have you been young lady? You know the orphanage rules. Everyone under the age of ten must be inside their room by nine. It's ten." Her foot started tapping in a fast beat. Too tired to defend herself Mia bowed her head and muttered an apology. It was met with a sharp cold laugh.

"You won't get away with this. Did you know the orphanage is legally allowed to kick children out once they start earning their own money?" Mia had not known that. Surely they wouldn't kick her out for being out and hour past curfew. Even if she was earning, she was only eight. Almost like magic Ruri read her mind.

"Age doesn't matter since technically you're an adult Mia." Damn!

"Now go to bed you don't deserve any dinner." Her hand shot out in the direction of the doors lining the top floor. It was at this point her stomach began to protest but neither acknowledged it. Ruri stepped to the side to allow her access to the building. Hesitant she walked up the tall stair case. The threat of being kicked out and her lack of energy she just wished to sleep.

By the time morning came around Mia had completely forgotten about her mission. Not even Naruto could make her smile. Ruri had a smug look on her face the whole time which only got bigger when the orphanage head appeared in the room. His eyes made contact with hers. In seconds Mia was running out the room towards the door. Her short explanation was that she was late. Not true it was only eight. She used the time to take a pleasant walk around the village. By half eight she was lost in a residential area, panicking. There was no one outside to help so she was stuck wondering, which she did. Just as she was rounding a corner she was hit. She didn't get why but she had been running into a lot of people recently. Her attention was drawn to the sounds coming from the floor. There lay a small girl, probably Mia's age. The girl noticed she was being watched after a few seconds. Long enough for a ninja to beat their opponent.

"Ah I'm so sorry for bumping into you. I was trying to find my brother." The girl squeaked out as she climbed back to her feet. She looked at Mia expectantly waiting for her response.

"It's ok." was all she got. However, the girl smiled as if it was the best thing she had heard.

"I'm glad! But if you don't mind me asking who are you? I've never seen you around before." Her head tilted to the side. Mia's old habit of staring was starting to come back. She wasn't great at talking to people her age. Seconds started to turn into minutes as Mia stood awkwardly, too embarrassed to admit to being lost. The girl was silent the whole time waiting.

"I got lost whilst walking around the village" Mia finally admit. She used her long purple hair to hide the blush crawling up her face. The girl laughed at the strange girl.

"I'm heading towards the main roads you can tag along." It was her only chance to get out of the maze of houses so Mia quickly agreed.

They walked in silence for a few moments but it looked like the girl was dying to talk. She didn't last much longer as words erupted from her mouth.

"So what's your name? Wait I'm meant to introduce myself first right. Right? Well I'm Koemi nice to meet you." She smiled so wide all her teeth were visible.

"I'm Mia nice to meet you too." She made a slight incline of her head in Koemi's direction. Whilst they walked Koemi continued to talk. It was almost like walking next to Naruto.

"I'm in the academy you know. It's so much fun learning about other countries but because I'm ten I have to continue taking the special girl classes. I hate them so much they're boring. You look my age so are you attending?" Mia had been mindlessly nodding along to the girls talk that the question took her off guard.

"I don't attend it actually." was the blunt answer she got.

"Oh really but you look like you were around my age." She looked slightly sheepish from the answer.

"You're two years older than me. I'm only eight." The sheepish look vanished.

"Ah so you only just turned old enough to join. You know what since we're friends when you join I'll make sure to help you." Her smile was nearly blinding. Koemi looked too innocent for Mia to correct so she just nodded with a small smile. They had just rounded the corner to the main street so both attentions had been moved to the hustle in the street.

"Well this is where we part today. I look forward to seeing you again." With that she took off running in a random direction. It was then that Mia noticed the time. Nine. She would be late now.

She had been right. The other two were sat on the grassy floor talking about something Mia couldn't hear. It was caught short though as all eyes turned to her. The coldest pair belonging to her sensei.

"You're late" was he calm response. Mia bowed and took a seat next to her teammates, speaking would make the matter worse. With a small huff Hyuuga-sensei turned to the three small children in front of him.

"Today we will be travelling to Tōkai to collect some weapons. It is a day's walk at civilian pace so I will be teaching you how to tree jump now." They all nodded but not all of them seemed to fully understand what he was talking about. "I'll demonstrate for you in a minute after you understand the theory. First you need to jump on to a branch that can hold your whole weight. Next you prepare to jump again to the next branch but before your feet leave the branch you must channel chakra to your feet. This will propel you forward." He couldn't of explained it simpler to them. The demonstration was to ensure they knew what a flawless jump looked like, which it was.

"We will meet up at the west entrance at noon. Bring a pack with spare clothes for three nights." He wandered to stand on the edge of the training field. The lingering message of don't be late was left unsaid as his eyes focused on Mia for a few seconds longer than necessary.

Noon came around quicker than the children expected. Mia and Fumio had managed to get tree jumping down. It was nowhere near as good as their sensei's but they were proud nonetheless. Takeo was not doing too well. He would fall right off the branch mid-jump and face plant the floor. His pride preventing him asking for help. He was surprisingly the last to leave the field to collect his gear for the trip. Mia and Fumio leaving together an hour before meeting time. Apparently he lived close so he didn't need to rush. They attempted to persuade him but his was stuck in his ways.

The two walked together in silence. Both were tired from practicing that talking seemed pointless. That was until they reached the turning point Mia had split from the girl. Fumio was turning to walk that way before he was stopped.

"Fumio do you live in that district?" Mia asked whilst pointing down the road. He looked slightly startled by the question. Mia had never shown any interest in these things.

"Urm yea. Is there a reason why you ask?" He tilted his head, confusion written across his face. A blush spread across her cheeks. She hadn't realised she said it out loud. If Fumio hadn't waved his hand in front of her face who knows how long she would of stayed quiet. Forcing the blush away she answered.

"I got lost there this morning. I would have missed more practice if it wasn't for a girl showing me the way out." For some reason Fumio started to laugh. The blush returned ten folds.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" She demanded. He had started to take deep to stop the laughter.

"I just don't get how you of all people managed to get lost. You're always acting so smart." He stated whilst wiping tears from his eyes. The laughter started again when he looked to see the pout on her face.

"I'm sorry Mi….." He was cut off by the sound of his name being shouted.

"Fumio nii-chan" A young girl screamed whilst waving her hands above her head. She had managed to draw the attention of many bystanders as well but it seemed like she hadn't noticed. Within seconds she was stood in front of her brother.

"I've been looking for you all morning to know. Mother wants to ask when you'll be back from your mission." The angry on her face looked real.

"Sorry Koemi I was on the training fields. You know the ones for real ninja." he teased. It only made her anger worse though.

"Well you shouldn't have gone there. You need to be in a place where I can find you at all times." He laughed again.

"What kind of logic is that?" He chuckled at the outrageous demand.

"It's Koemi logic obviously." The anger was gone off her face, replaced by the look of 'are you stupid'. Fumio was acting so different to how he normally did that Mia couldn't stop watching the pair. A small chuckle left her lips bring his attention back to Mia.

"Oh sorry Mia. This is my little sister Koemi." Fumio turned to introduce Mia to his sister when she immediately fell into a bow.

"I'm sorry you've had to look after my stupid brother." Fumio was speechless at her reaction to meeting one of his teammates.

Mia couldn't hold it in anymore. She laughed. It was only small and lasted a few seconds but both children heard it. Koemi lifted her head. Her eyes locked onto Mia's.

"You're the girl from this morning." She shouted stunning Fumio.

"You mean you're the one who helped her. But you're soooo mean." He said after regaining his senses. She turned to face him.

"That's rude!" That was all she said before turning back to Mia.

"How do you know my brother? I mean you're two years younger than me so you definitely shouldn't know him." She slowly turned to start ranting to herself. Until Fumio made a loud outburst.

"You're only eight!"

"You didn't know nii-chan. Just look at her she's obviously not as old as you."

"Koemi I don't think you understand. Mia is my teammate. You know a full-fledged ninja. An academy graduate." Mia found the whole ordeal embarrassing and awkward. However, her attempted escape from it was stopped when Koemi turned to talk to her again.

"Mia you should of told me. I'm so embarrassed. I offered to help a genius at academy grade word." Her hands came up to cover her red face. It seemed like Mia finally had the chance to talk.

"I was very happy for your offer for help. No one has ever helped me before. She bowed with a small smile on her face.

"Now I'm afraid I must leave now to pack my bag. I'll see you later Fumio-san and sorry for asking such a question out of the blue." Again Mia bowed before turning to leave. Both of the Abe sibling wished Mia a goodbye as she walked into the busy crowd.

By the time Mia had returned to the orphanage most of the children were either at the academy or playing in the back garden. Naruto was one of the children playing. Mia knew from the quick glance of his yellow locks being blown back as he ran. A gang of children chasing just behind. Naruto could deal with his own problems at the moment. Mia only had so much time left to pack and get to the gate. It was lucky that she kept a small scroll full of all her necessities including all her earnings. She took a few spare tops from it and placed them into a pack. She couldn't afford to lose the scroll so it always stayed hidden. Just as she was zipping her pack shut the door slammed open. In came charging Naruto who stopped when his eyes landed on Mia.

"Why are you home?" He pointed his finger accusingly. Mia returned the blame.

"Why are you in my room?" Both stood there neither wanting to break first. However, Naruto inability to stay quiet took over.

"What's with the bag? Are you planning to leave? You can't leave me alone." The worry on his face made Mia's heart break.

"Don't worry, it's only for a few days. My team has been assigned a mission that takes us out of the village."

"No I forbid you from leaving without me. I'm better than your team." Mia let out a small sigh.

"It's not forever and you don't have the skills to come with me. And you haven't even meet my teammates." He pouted as his argument was dismissed. Seeing his disheartened face Mia broke.

"I'll make sure to bring you back a big present." His face lit up until a look of mischief filled his eyes.

"Pinky promise me then." Mia laughed at his childish plan.

"Ok pinky promise." Their pinkies wrapped around each other as both smiled.

"Now I have to go meet up with my team. I'll see you in a few days." Mia waved goodbye as she left her room. Naruto probably had a good reason to be there. She just prayed it wasn't for him to prank her.

Just as she got to the door to open it Kiko spotted her.

"What are you doing with that pack?" Mia turned around; she had forgotten to tell any of the adults that she would be leaving.

"Urm sensei wants us all to camp together to tighten the team bond." She knew that Kiko would never let her leave the village, not at her age.

"Oh really." Her eyebrow rose slightly.

"Yeah it's just going to be outside the village walls but still within walking distance of a gate." Kiko sighed. Either she knew Mia was lying or that she couldn't do anything to go against her sensei.

"When will you be back then?"

"I'll only be gone for three days." Mia was smiling as much as she was willing to. Kiko just waved a dismissive hand in her direction. Taking full advantage of that Mia turned to run out the door.

"Just know I'll be training you even harder now once you get back." Mia stumbled, her head turning slowly back to face Kiko. She just stood there with a wicked grin on her face. She was in for a lot of pain when she returned.

With that final reminder Mia took off running towards the meeting point. This time she was determined to be the first one to arrive. No more being last. She arrived a good fifteen minutes before the others or so she thought. Her sensei had been waiting near the gate the whole time. He had been tracking all his students using his byakugan. He was shocked to see Takeo staying the latest. From what he could see he had denied help from his teammates before they left. He had only just left the training grounds when Mia landed in front of the gate. She wore a smug look at herself as she looked around. Takeo was going to need to rush if he wished to make it on time. He could already see Fumio making his way towards them. He was only a five minute run from them. Hopefully Takeo before the scheduled time so they could leave early.

Hyuuga-sensei hope was for nothing as Takeo arrived just before the meeting time. All three of them watched their sensei drop gracefully out of the tree next to the gate.

"I hope you all managed to learn the tree hopping because that's how we'll be travelling." He had a stern look in his eyes that killed any protest from his students.

"It will cut our travel time down by half." This confused both Mia and Fumio who didn't see the benefit of jumping through the trees.

"How will it make the trip faster? I thought it would make it slower." Mia inquired.

"The jumps help you travel further in a shorter amount of time. You are also taking less steps, which conserves energy." That was the quick explanation they all got. Not long after that they had taken off into the trees.

On multiple times Takeo slipped forward. His foot nearly missing a branch. Their sensei never once slowed the pace. It was pushing all three of them to the limit. Takeo tripped the most but the other two were just as unlucky. All three of them had to work together just to stop anyone from falling. It had been made very clear to them that they weren't stopping. At one point all three of the began to fall, the branch they landed on being coated in water making it slippery. If Mia hadn't of known how to stick to the trees, they all would have fallen. Her grip was strong enough for her to hold all three of them up. However, she wasn't physically strong enough to hold them for long. Using the momentum of their fall Mia swung them back and forth until she could throw them towards the next branch. Surprisingly, Takeo was the one to land on his feet. Unfortunately, Fumio's stomach slammed on the branch, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Not even having a chance to catch his breath, Fumio took off running shouting behind him for them to hurry up. They were already losing sight of their sensei.

They made it to the town just as night fell. All of them were exhausted. That was not the pace meant for mere genin. They hadn't encountered any other obstacles other than what they created, luckily. None of them were experts but they had improved greatly whilst running. Not only could they jump further but they had managed to work as a team for longer than a few minutes. Who would have thought nearly dying together would help them this much. The difference between a C rank and a D rank was already showing. They were both physically demanding but C rank was on a completely different level. The laps of the village that Mia was forced to run yesterday were not being kind to her muscles. They were screaming in pain. Her teammates didn't seem to be fairing as well either as she watched Fumio drop to the floor.

They had made it to the village but no exactly inside. The whole thing was surrounded by a great wooden wall. Every hundred feet was a guard stood, staring into the darkness. It didn't take long before they were walking around, rotating. It was fascinating to watch as they held very few ninjas. Many of the people guarding the wall were normal villagers. That was obvious from the loud heavy footsteps they all took. Sneaking in would be a piece of cake if they had to. But they didn't want to tarnish the relationship between the two villages by entering without warning. After watching the guards once again rotate, they started towards the main gate.


	23. Chapter 23

As they approached the gate many guards shouted. Some said halt, some said to stop but the best one was the confused shout of "Why are there children at this time?" Their lack of knowledge was concerning. A blacksmithing town should be used to seeing something like this. They had stopped being children when they placed the headband on. But what else could you expect from civilians. Their whispers could be heard from the ground. It seemed getting visitors at all was rare. A very rare thing to hear, this wasn't an isolated village. Most of their trade was done between the same groups of merchants for years.

They were soon shushed as an older man approached them. He was wearing old torn clothing. His blade that sat on his hip was rusted and chipped. In a fight it would be useless even if handled by the best of swordsmen. As he got closer the scars covering his face, arms and torso became clear. He had seen his fair share of battle.

"Outsiders need to leave. We ain't doing business 'ere." His gruff voice travelled the distance left between them easily. It was clear they weren't welcome even before he spoke. Takeo was ready to protest when the sudden movement of their sensei stopped them. His hand was deep in his clothing. It took a few seconds as all eyes were on it. He moved his hand a fraction too fast as the guards hand was pulling his blade free.

It was half was out when the scroll became visible. It was their mission details. The sword fell back into place in preparation to catch the flying scroll. None of the students had even noticed it being thrown. It was easily caught as the man opened it. His eyes skimming from line to line. When he reached the end, his eyes narrowed.

"Is this true?" His eyes just barely looking over the paper. Hyuga-sensei merely nodded his head.

"Very well. Follow me." The man turned his back to them as he walked to the open door he originally came from. He didn't seem too happy about what was written. This had caught Mia's attention as they were only collecting a few things.

As they crossed through the doorway the man shout for someone. They odd snicker was hear from the others. The loud thuds from the stairs slowly turned into a loud bang followed by a groan. A head was just visible from around a corner. Slowly the head raised as a young boy came from around the corner. The snickers turned into full blown laughter. The boy snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL GUYS! I THOUGH WE STOPPED THIS!" This only made things worse. Even the gruff man that had meet them was smiling in the kids direction. It was soon wiped off his face when the laughter had continued for too long. The young genin were stood uncomfortable and confused. Except Takeo who thought it was just as funny as the guards. Just as the boy was going to complain again the man coughed. All sound ceased immediately, backs straightened and all attention was aimed at them.

"Hebo you'll be escorting these people to the inn." This head jerked towards the group. The boy now known as Hebo bowed before looking at the group of ninja. A goofy smile spread across his face. To Mia it was like meeting another Naruto. Maybe this mission won't be as boring as thought.

The entire way to the inn he didn't stop talking. All they heard was about how amazing he is and how terrible the others were. Everyone had taken to nodding along after a few minutes of the same thing. However, Mia was still responding. The quietest person in the whole group was holding a conversation with a stranger. That was not a development they had expected. Inside the inn Hebo continued to talk to the woman at the reception desk as the group left for the room. It took them a good ten minutes just to tell the woman they wanted a room.

When they did finally get the room it was the smallest in the whole building. Their sensei was stingy apparently. They didn't even get to have breakfast in the morning. The inn didn't even have any other rooms booked. All the keys were still hanging sadly in the old creaky cupboard. There wouldn't be any midnight adventures whilst staying here. But before their minds could wander to all the cool mysteries hidden in the shadows of the town they needed to settle into the room. The children didn't really know what they had to do in the morning. It was time to plan.

However, before they could ascend the first step Hebo shouted.

"What did you show the captain? He's never given anyone an escort." His face had a look of innocent curiosity but his eyes hide the suspicious he had of them. Maybe this boy wasn't as stupid as he seemed. Their sensei's eyes turned colder than usual. The pale cream colour going nearly white.

"That is confidential." The iciness of his voice chilled the room further that the faint shivers of the receptionist turned to full-on shaking. The smile dropped off of Hebo's face immediately as his cheeks redden.

"Ahhhh I'm sorry for asking." His head dropped low. The three had seen him act cold but this was on a whole other level. All the boy got in response was a grunt. Their sensei was already walking up the stairs. With his back turned he couldn't see the harsh glare sent his way. Hebo was far from happy having to deal with them.

The room was just as small as expected. No windows on any of the walls. The bed was just a mattress on the floor with a dusty pillow. No blanket in sight. The three genin were disgusted at the sight.

"Hey sensei! What kind of room is this? I want a bed! I want a bed!" Takeo stomped as he threw a tantrum. The quiet sounds of agreement from Mia and Fumio didn't help calm him down. The mutter of a window from Fumio made them all notice the cold damp air around them. They had no source of fresh air at all.

"See you need to get us a better room before we freeze to death." Takeo had stopped his chanting for a more logical tactic. Hyuga-sensei just stood in silence. Until they had stopped.

It took a few seconds before he could actually speak.

"This room is the best option for any smart ninja." All eyes were on him as he explained.

"The lack of window means there is only one way in or out of this room. No surprise attacks possible. The single bed and the cold air is to help condition you to what it will be like sleeping outside. It will also help the people stood guard stay awake. Warmth makes a person tired. You are a team so if one person makes a mistake you all are to blame." After all was said no one else dared to bring up the conditions again.

There were silent arguments on who got to sleep on the mattress. All three had sat down, leaving no room at all. Elbows and knees were flying.

"This is not the time to be sleeping we need to plan. Even if this is only a C-rank mission a plan is always needed." Their sensei nodded sagely. It didn't stop them from fighting though as none of them were willing to even stand. They knew that it was a sign of surrender. That was not an option. Fumio may have seemed timid but it seemed his courage had grown in the past few months the team had been together. Mia was merely stubborn and refused to lose to a couple of children. Mentally a twenty-nine year old but she was an eight year old at heart. Finally Takeo refused to go anywhere near the dirty floor. Someone of his background should automatically have been given the bed. His civilian teammates might not have noticed but Takeo was from a clan known for their strength, the Yamashita clan, also known as the mountain clan. They had migrated years ago from Iwagakure after being offered land from the first Hokage. It took their sensei kicking them from the mattress for a plan to begin forming.

They had all taken turns sleeping on the mattress. One would stay watch whilst the other two slept. Hyuga-sensei had stayed up the whole night. There had been a few occasions were the children had slipped into a light nap. They would soon learn to stay awake. He was certain of it as a slight evil glint shone in his eyes. The morning has crept onto them as they were all rudely awoken by their sensei.

"Everyone up! We must stretch to help the muscles." This was a normal part of training for them just not at the crack of dawn. With many groans they got up. Mia was the quietest out of them all. She was used to getting up early. With Kiko as a sensei she had no choice but to get up. She was stricter than Hyuga-sensei. All three of them stood in a corner and began to move their limbs into positions that shouldn't be possible.

After a good hour they were ready. Sweaty and aching but up and alert. It was time to actually complete the mission or that was the plan. That was put to an end when a knock came at the door. A quiet feminine voice could be heard from the other side.

"Pardon the intrusion but you have a visitor at the front desk. He wishes to meet with you." The sound of feet rustling could be heard as she left. They didn't know anyone in the town so their minds ran trying to figure out who could wish to talk to them. One option was the man from the wall. That thought was washed away quickly as the sounds of the rookies' voice filled the air. For some reason he had appeared again. It sounded like he wanted to come and meet them. That was not something any of them wanted. The only solution would be to meet him. Their sensei let out a sigh at the thought of dealing with the loud mouth. However, instead of avoiding it him opened the door and began to descend. His three students following close behind. The look of dread spread across.

It was a good thing they left when they did as the saw him slowly climbing the stairs to their room as the receptionist tried her best to stop him. The whining in his voice only became more prominent.

"Awwwwwww come on." His shoulders dropped as he was again denied. The woman's soft features were starting to show annoyance. Her lips forming a hard line. Her eyebrow arched high. The look dropped as soon as a sneeze was heard from the top of the landing. The rookie had only managed to climb a handful of stairs. Both turned to see a small weak looking boy wipe his nose. He was surrounded by two other children and a beautiful man with hair that flowed in wind that wasn't even there. The boy on the stairs made a sound to indicate that he knew them.

"Finally! I've been waiting for ages for you to show up. What took so long? You weren't planning anything were you?" He joked. But he watched their reactions for any slight movements. Nothing. They just continued to climb down the stairs, forcing him to walk backwards.

"It was Hebo correct?" There was a nod as he continued to talk.

"Is there a reason why you are disturbing us?" The cold look was back as the boy gulped. Hebo was silence for a few seconds.

"Captain said to show you to the blacksmiths." His eyes darted to everything that wasn't the tall man in front of him. His eyes landed on Mia.

"Ahhh I never actually got your name. It's only fair that you tell me now since you know mine." His head tilted as he hit is fist onto his open palm. With a few exchanged looks they all took turns to introduce themselves. Only Hyuga-sensei didn't bow to him. The goofy smile returned ten folds although he did eye their sensei.

"Well then let's go we don't have all day." he joked.

Having him there to guide them did help. The town was nowhere near as confusing as the Leaf village but still had its secret alleyways here and there. It would seem Hebo was very well-known in the town so it was a surprise that the receptionist didn't know him. He wasn't as loud during the trip. He actually took his job seriously in some way. The walk was only fifteen minutes but it seemed longer with all the people talking to their guide. All three had kept quiet due to not liking the morning disturbance. Hyuga-sensei had just kept his distance in general. His eyes scanning over everything occasionally. It was almost like he was looking for something Mia noticed. She chose not to say anything, the fear of punishment was too strong. Even if it was beneficial it was like hell.

When they arrived at the blacksmiths Hebo went to take a step in until a hand stopped him.

"I think we can handle this alone." He simply shrugged. He had no real interest in this part. Many people wanted to buy weapons from the shop. It was known around the nation for its high quality. His only curiosity was the reason they personally came. It was rare to see ninja especially with children following behind. They couldn't possibly be over the age of thirteen yet they walked with the airs of an adult. Not like it mattered. If they tried anything he'd put them in their place. The only concern was the man. He was deadly, his eyes held the look of a man who had seen many battles. The reason Hebo was the one showing them around was because his ability to hide his strength. If they tried anything dodgy they'd be going against the town's best hand to hand fighter. A smug smile graced his lips.

Inside the shop the children were glancing around in amazement. It was their first time in an actual blacksmiths. The heat was the first thing to hit them as they walked through the door. Loud bangs echoed throughout the building. It was a miracle they couldn't be heard from the outside. The banging slowed to a stop as they admired the view of many beautifully crafted knives, swords and kunai littered the walls. Deep loud laughs made all three children snap to attention. Stood in the doorway was a large muscled man. Sweat was pouring from his forehead as he wiped his hands.

"So what can I do for you guys today?" An easy smile graced his face. It made the scar on his chin standout as Mia tried hard not to stare. It wasn't long in length but it was at least an inch wide and curved to the edge of his smile. The other two didn't seem to care for it. Too used to the sight of scarred ninja back in the village. Her sensei stepped forward to draw his attention away.

"We're here to collect an order. Reference number 64879490-56." The man made a hmmmming sound as he disappeared into the back. He returned quickly with a small scroll in his hand.

"I believe this should hold everything you're looking for." He tossed the scroll in her sensei's general direction. His quick reflexes snatched it without missing a beat. A simple bow was all he got in return. The mans' eyes had already returned to Mia after feeling her stare. They locked eyes.

"It was one of my blades that did it." His hand reached up to touch the scar. I had a man come in to buy a short sword many years ago. The only problem was that he had no intention of paying. It was my finest work and even to this day I've yet to make anything better." The story had Mia's full attention.

"Did you stop him from taking it?" She blurted out. A slight shake of his head was her answer.

"Not from that man." Takeo felt the need to make his boredom known.

"Ok stories over let's go." It seems he had finished looking at the range of weapons. Yet the way the man worded his sentence caught Mia's attention.

"What do you mean not from that man? Did you take it from someone else?" His eyes narrowed.

"You're a sharp one aren't you." He sighed "But you'd be correct. A companion of mine meet him on the battlefield. She travelled several hundred miles just to return it to me. I have kept it hidden away since then. She looked a lot like you. Except her eyes were as dark as the night skies." His eyes turned glassy as he was whisked away into memory lane. The group took that as a hint to leave. It sounded as if the woman had passed.

To Mia's surprise Hebo was still stood waiting outside the shop. His leg resting against the wall as he casually looked up at the sky. In that moment you could see the underlying intelligence. The boy was obviously older than them all but only by a handful of years. Mia would guess around fifteen at best. His eyes slowly slid down as he took notice of them. The others had been too busy chatting away to take notice of him. All the secrets that hid behind the goofy smile and cold eyes, Mia would learn what they all were. But first she needed to know what he thought of them. He always had an odd glint in his eyes when they made eye contact. Mia made the first move closer to him. She didn't want the others to hear. She knew he was watching her closely but his posture stayed relaxed. She stopped just close enough that he could hear her.

"What is it that you see when you look at us?" she whispered. His eyes slid back to watching the sky. His lips parted as he released a sigh. Standing to his full height he finally fully acknowledged her.

"I see a bunch of children trying to play adult just because they got some kind of special training. You act better than us yet I see nothing special in any of you. You look weak." Mia just stared at him blankly. She knew many people thought the same but it was strange to hear it straight to her face.

She bowed her head slightly "Thank you for being honest it's rare trait." He blinked owlishly at her. Mia really was an odd child. Before he had the chance to say anything else her team noticed the empty space that was normally taken up by their snarky teammate.

Regaining his fake cheerfulness, he filled his face with a smile as he waved his hands obnoxiously in the air to catch their attention.

"Since it doesn't look like you're leaving yet, why don't I give you a tour of the village? It'll be handy in the future." All of them knew they weren't leaving until the next morning. Fumio and Takeo simply shrugged while Mia was slightly apprehensive of spending more time with him. However, before any of them could agree Hyuga-sensei spoke up.

"I'm afraid I must pass up on your offer. I still have other business to attend to. Although, my students are free to do as they wish." His eyes turned to scan the three students.

"I expect you all back in the room by sundown." With that he was gone. It seemed they were on their own for the rest of the day. Hebo looked expectantly at them. He got a mix of reactions but all seemed to agree to the tour.

Hebo showed them all the best shops in his small village. None of them had caught Mia's attention as she made a mental map of where they had walked. She had little trust for the man guiding them now. They had just arrived at the other edge of the village, a large waterfall marking the end. The water raging rapidly all the way down the short drop. The village had two waterfalls which was their source of freshwater. He had showed both of them. The one in front of them was harsh and angry while the other was the complete opposite. It was calm and soothing. It even had fish swimming peacefully along the bottom. It seemed the moods of the villagers reflexed that of the waterfall. Angry shouts could be heard from their position, something about an attack happening again. Mia listened intently to the shouting as Hebo attempted to push them away.

"We can help you know. Find the missing girls I mean." Mia said innocently. She doubted there were any high leveled ninjas in the surrounding area, only bandits that they could easily deal with.

"It's probably some pervert that thinks he can get away with taking people." Fumio joined in. He seemed to be weighing his options.

"It has been happening for the last month. Young girls have been disappearing from villages all around our area. One of the girls from here was taken just days before you arrived. That's why we were so hostile. It's also the reason I hid it from you." He glared down at Mia. "He'll take you too if he gets the chance. The towns people keep saying he'll hit here again otherwise it's a long travel to the next village." He sighed as the stress of the situation showed on his face. Maybe Mia had judged him wrong. He wasn't mean but worried that she would vanish from under his watch. Instead of her normal blank face a small smile spread.

"We can handle ourselves so why don't you go calm the two over there down whilst we wait." With a small push she made Hebo walk over to the arguing people.

Mia whipped around to her teammates as soon as the teenager had left. It would seem the others had the same idea as her.

"We need to track this guy down." Fumio nodded in agreement as Takeo just looked ready for a fight. The three began to form a basic plan.

"All three of us will head in different directions to cover more ground. We'll meet back up in an hour just next to the waterfall. If the enemy appears stronger than thought you are to retreat back to the waterfall so we can attack as a team." Fumio received nods from both before Mia leaped away. Just as Takeo was going to jump he turned.

"Hey Fumio which waterfall is it we're meeting at?" Fumio looked surprised. He had assumed that Takeo had heard him say the calm waterfall.

"The calmer one. It's too loud here to think of a proper strategy." With a quick nod both took off in opposite directions. Both taking to the trees as Hebo came running back. His face dropping from a smile to pure terror as he realised they had gone. He needed to alert the captain.

As Mia moved quickly through the trees, her eyes scanned over the ground looking for hints of life. Her thoughts began to wander slightly to how she needed to learn how to observe more at a quicker pace. If she moved any faster she would be unable to see any detail. It was definitely a skill that any good ninja needed. She'd have to talk to Kiko about it when she got back to the orphanage. Although, it was a good thing she had learned how to tree hop before the mission. Otherwise she would of covered far less ground. Less ground was not something she needed right now. Time was of the essence. They could only really afford to be out until sundown. The looming punishment was too much. The others might not have suffered yet but she knew.

Before she had realised it, the hour was nearly up. She had covered a lot of land but no sign of the missing girls. If she didn't leave now she'd never make it back to the waterfall in time. Making her teammates worry was the last thing she wanted. It'd probably be worse with Fumio since he had learnt of her true age. Even if she never lied about it she didn't exactly come straight out and say it either. Her feet moving back towards the waterfall. Her mental map was a massive help. It was easy to get lost in the woods, everything looking the same no matter where you stood. She didn't have long to get back to the waterfall.

The sound of the water signaled Mia to her location. She was getting close. Her feet began to move quicker, merely brushing the top of the branches. The raging waters covering any sound she made. The light was peeking through the thick leaves. Her path seemed brighter. Her muscles tightened at the thought of a break as she broke through the tree line. Just a few more hops until she found a spot to stop. It was high enough that she could see anyone approaching but low enough that she could hide. However, the best feature was the spray of cold water that drizzled over her. It cooled the sweat that coated her brow. Heavy breathes were overshadowed by the water smacking against the rocks.

Mia took the time to glance around her surrounding area. None of her teammates had arrived yet. She was alone with her thoughts. The surrounding space was beautiful with the sun dancing between the branches. The leaves slowly turning in colour as autumn began to hit. It was peaceful almost. The only sound being the water. Hebo had told her that people rarely frequented the area due to the distance from the centre. With all the attacks happening no one wish to be the next victim. She could have stayed there forever.

The minutes began to slowly tick by as neither of her teammates appeared. This was definitely odd for them. Slow as they might be, they had enough time to get back. Mia was positive that Fumio had said to meet back here yet her mind couldn't stop racing at the thought that they had been attacked. The possibility of her being wrong never crossed her mind. The water made her miss the slight rustling that came from her left. However, she didn't miss the hand being pushed against her month as she was pulled back. She didn't get farther than a single step as her back slammed into a wall. That was what it felt like to Mia. Hot breaths brushed her ear as a chill went down her spine. Her mind was racing. She had never been put in a situation like this before.

Slowly the hot breath began to get closer until she could feel the lips.

"My my, what is a lovely little girl like you doing all alone out here?" the stranger whispers his other hand slipping down around her waist in a tight grip. Fear took over her body as she froze in place. His lips moved down towards her neck. The way he bent just proved how much he towered over her small frame. He sniffed.

"You smell delicious. It seems you've been playing all alone, why don't I keep you company?" A sinister smile spread across his face. His hand creeping lower was what snapped Mia out of her fear. Like hell she was going to let some pervert get away with this. Her lips parted as she licked the man's hand. He chuckled at her childish attempt, his grip loosing giving Mia the chance to slam the heel of her foot onto his toes. His hands moved just an inch away but with her slender figure she slipped out. She finally got a good look at her attacker.

He was standing at an average five foot ten inches. Yet he seemed taller in Mia's eyes. His hair was a platinum blonde almost white. His eyes an indigo colour. They were striking compared to his pale hair but the lust in his eyes dulled them. His skin looked almost sickly. The veins on his exposed muscles were visible even from a distance. Now that she paid more attention she noticed the cuts and bruises that were forming. A dark puddle collecting slowly at his feet. The man had been in battle recently. Mia's heart pounded in her chest as he let out an angry roar.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!" His voice dropped "I'll make you pay." The smile returned. Now that she could see it, Mia had decided she preferred him angry.

The speed in which he moved was beyond what she had expected. The man was a shinobi. She was an idiot for not realising sooner. How else could he of snuck up on her? Within a blink of an eye he was in front of her. His fist cocked back. It came down with skull crushing force. Mia didn't even have time to block. The punch connected as she was sent flying back. Her momentum stopped as she landed on a rock. Her spine screaming in pain. Her limbs refusing to move. A whimper slipped out.

"I'll make you scream even louder than that." he stated as he slowly came back into view. His hand was coming closer and closer again. Mia shut her eyes instinctively, expecting another punch. Instead, he grabbed her collar as she began to feel weightless. A deep chuckle made her eyes open. His eyes were staring her headband. Amusement could be seen shining brightly. It spread to his face as he removed the cloth. In his right hand he held it, his left hand rising with her in it.

He was thrown her into the air. As she started to fall back down something hard connected to her stomach. Slamming into the same rock again a crack was heard. It had been destroyed from the force. Black spots filled Mia vision as she clung to the land of the conscious; she couldn't faint now. Mia's eyes stung as she fought to keep the tears back. It caused her unexpected pain but she paid it no mind. Crying wouldn't help anyways.

Her head drooped to the side to watch the man doubled over as blood spewed from his mouth. With her last bit of strength she rose to her feet. A look of determination upon her face. With him this badly injured she might have a fighting chance. Taking advantage of his position she darted forward. Her foot swinging forward to hit him in the face. Centimeters away his hand went to snatch her ankle. Yet his movements had become sloppy as Mia could almost predict what he was going to do. Unfortunately, her lack of training and experience didn't allow her to react. His hand met her ankle as he squeezed. A throbbing pain was sent shooting through her body. Squeezing and squeeze the bone finally snapped in half. He had broken her ankle like a twig. The force of his hand weakened, he was letting her retracted her foot. Without it holding her up, she tumbled into a heap onto the floor. Everything hurt as she sat there shaking. She was going to die again. Even though she vowed not to this was her end. Head hit knee as she bowed her head. She had accepted defeat. Taking that as an opportunity the man walked forward, hand outstretched to take his winnings.

She had collapsed in such a way that he was forced to get onto his knees just to see her face. His face moving closer and closer Mia's eyes twitched to the side.

"Just a little closer." She thought "NOW!" Her hand shot out digging a kunai into his nose.

"How does that smell you pervert?" Her tongue slipped out as her face scrunched up. At least she had hit him once. He had fallen back into a sitting position clutching his nose. However, during the fight both had forgotten about the waterfall just beside them. His hand went down but instead of dirt he felt air. Down his hand went as his body followed. Splash echoed to Mia's ears. She hoped he was too injured to swim back to the surface. Sadly, her luck wasn't that good.

When she crawled to the edge she could see him stood on the water. He had torn off his sleeve to stop the bleeding from his nose. His eyes darted up as he felt her eyes. They turned to slits as the made contact. However, they didn't stay like that for long as instead of seeing her fearful gray eyes he was met with blood red. Two spinning tomoe in each eye. Shock took over him as he took one step back. It explained how she had landed a hit on him but it would never happen again. He hadn't expected the girl to be from such a powerful clan. She was meant to be some nobody. She hadn't walked with the air of pride the others did. He watched as she did the exact same as him. She had moved too far forward. They broke eye contact as she frantically tried to land.

She fell deep into the water. Panic set in again. It was bad enough that he was still alive but she was now underwater, drowning. Her arms waved around madly as she tried to regain the space that was slowly growing between them. It was fruitless. Her back was already lying on the bottom. She just wanted to go to sleep. She was sure that she had some internal damage as well as more broken bones. The man was too good for her. Injured or not. Her eyes drifted to his direction. Surprised bubbles left her as she could see the man. He had collapsed onto his hands and knees. He was going to pass out at any second as the water around him turned red. His t-shirt revealing the large slash across his torso. It was a miracle he was still alive with such a wound. She could end it now. If she waited for him to bleed out, her own air supply would definitely run out.

Gathering her chakra she turned back to her training. A kunai was already stuck between her teeth. She'd need to grab it quick if her plan was to work. Her hands form the familiar seal for the body flicker. Instantly she was just below him. Kunai in hand as she launched herself up. The blade meet flesh as in dug deep into his neck. Blood poured over Mia as she twisted. He was not getting away this time. His eyes were wide as he choked for a few seconds. Not long after she felt the weight of him collapse onto the blade. She had done it. She had beaten the man. She had killed the man. It was not a pleasant thought as she threw up into the water. Even when using chakra to stand on the water the weight of the man was slowly making her sink again. So with the last of her strength, pushed his body to the side. He sunk quickly to the bottom leaving a trail of red. She let out a bitter laugh as she thought about having to apologise to the village. The water would no longer be drinkable.

It was only then that she saw her reflection. The small cuts and bruises but most importantly the different coloured eyes. The red that started back at her looked wrong and unnatural. She wanted her gray eyes back. With that thought her eyes slowly returned to her gray as she began to slump. The adrenalin had been used up completely. She had been running on it the whole fight. She was shocked at how depleted her chakra was as she had only used on technique. Her control had gotten a lot better after learning how to walk using it. Before she could faint she limped her way back to shore. Her ankle had grown to be twice the size as it turned an angry purple. As soon as her foot touched land Mia's eyes rolled back.

She was already out before she had the chance to hear the worried calls from her teammates as they looked over the ledge to her. They had missed the fight but they had watched as she dropped like a ton of bricks. Both were ready to jump down but couldn't risk getting trapped under the water. They'd have to take the long way down. When Mia hadn't shown up after an hour of the meeting time, Takeo and Fumio had rushed over. They didn't want to split up if there was a chance that Mia had been taken by the snatcher. They were so happy went they had caught sight of her walking to shore until they watched her drop. She needed to see a doctor immediately.


End file.
